EDltion  ^c  TLuje 

CALIFORNIA    AND   ALASKA    AND    OVER   THE    CANADIAN 

PACIFIC   RAILWAY. 
By  William  S.  Webb,  M.D. 

Elegantly  printed  in  quarto  ;  size  8x  ii  inches.  Con- 
tains 190  pages  of  text,  printed  upon  the  finest  vellum 
paper,  and  sumptuously  bound  in  full  morocco.  But  ^00 
copies  printed.     I25.00. 

The  volume  contains  4  full-page  etchings  and  88  photo- 
gravures. 

The  etchings,  which  are  india  proofs,  are : 

Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey,  Cal.     By  C.  Y.  Turner. 
Muir  Glacier,  Alaska.     By  R.  Swain  Gifford. 
North  Arm,  Biscotasing  Lake.     By  J.  C.  NicoLi., 
Lake  Louise,  tiear  Laggaji.     By  R   C.  Minor. 

Among  the  88  full-page  photogravures  will  be  found 
the  following  : 

On  the  Coast,  near  Monterey. 

Seal  Rock  Covered  with  Seals,  near  Monterey. 

Yosemite  Valley ,  from  Artist's  Point. 

Glacier  Point,  ^,200  feet,  Yosemite  Valley. 

Vancouver ,  from  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Docks. 

Douglas  Firs,  on  Vancouver  Tozun-Site. 

Floating  Ice,  near  Muir  Glacier 

Typical  View  along  the  Coast  of  Alaska. 

Great  Glacier,  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Station  and  Moutit  Sir  Donald  Glacier. 

Hermit  Range,  fro  fn  Hotel,  Showing  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Station. 

Lower  Kicking  Horse  Canyon,  near  Golden. 

"  Dr.  Webb  affords  a  vivacious  description  ofthe  country  traversed, 
as  well  as  of  the  personal  experiences  of  the  travelling  party.  His 
chronicle  is  ample,  entertaining,  and  valuable." — The  Sun. 

G.  P,  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London. 


YOSEMITE    FALLS. 


popular  lEMtlou 


California  and  Alaska 

AND  OVER 

THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY 


BY 


WILLIAM  SEWARD  WEBB 


SECOND  EDITION 


ILLUSTRA  TED 


^' 


G.  r.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

27   WEST    TWENTV-THIKU    STREr'f  27    KING    WILLIAM    STREET,    STRAND 

■Cbc  1knicI?erbocf;cr  press 
1891 


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COPYRIGHT,    1890 
BY 

WILLIAM  SEWARD  WEBB 


Ubc  Iknlcljcrbocfccr  ipicse,  mew  13orf! 

Electrotyped,  Printed,  and  Bound  by 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


INTRODUCTION. 

IN  accordance  with  a  time-honored  custom, 
1  must,  at  the  outset,  explain  in  a  few 
words  why  this  work  is  given  to  the  pubHc. 
In  the  winter  of  1888-9,  ^  determined  upon 
taking  a  trip  with  my  family  across  the  conti- 
nent to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  from  thence  to 
the  city  of  Mexico.  A  few  friends  were  in- 
vited to  accompany  us  on  our  journey.  The 
intention  was  to  be  absent  about  three  months 
and  a  half,  and  the  ist  of  March,  1889,  was 
agreed  upon  as  the  starting-day.  But  the 
severe  illness  of  my  daughter,  which  began 
but  a  few  days  prior  to  our  time  for  leaving, 
disarranged  all  our  plans,  and  the  day  of 
departure  was  postponed  until  the  first  week 
in  April. 

The  more  I  thought  of  this  proposed  jour- 
ney, the  more  interesting  and  important  it 
seemed  to  me  in  the  prospective.      For,  to  me 


3G596i 


A'' 

vl  Jnirodiiction.  •) 

at  least,  it  was  something  more  thiin  a  trip  of 
pleasure,  as,  indeed,  it  could  ngt  but  be  to 
any  business  man.  '^The  journey  would  cover 
the  most  interesting  portion  of  our  country — 
a  stretch  of  territory  that  is  not  only  the  pride 
of  every  native  of  the  United  States,  but  the 
subject  of  never  ceasing  wonder  on  the  part  of 
the  countless  number  of  educated  foreigfners 
who  come  to  our  shores  with  the  special  pur- 
pose of  journeying  over  the  same  ground. 
Following  up  this  line  of  thought,  I  deter- 
mined that  an  expedition  of  such  interest,  in 
which  I  should  enjoy  the  society  not  only  of 
my  own  family  but  of  some  of  my  most  valued 
friends,  was  worthy  of  special  and  unusual 
preparation.  Then  it  was  that  I  conceived 
the  Idea  of  organizing  a  private  train  for  the 
party,  to  include  a  baggage-car.  a  dining-car, 
and  two  special  cars. 

This  train  was  to  run  what  railroad  men 
call  "special"  from  start  to  finish,  i.e.,  it  was 
to  be  entirely  independent  of  time-tables, 
starting  when  we  wished  and  running  at  any 
rate  of  speed  we  might  elect.  Of  course, 
under  such  a  scheme  the  party  would  be 
relieved  of  any  anxiety  they  might  otherwise 
have  had  in  regard  to  making  connections. 


Litroductioii.  vii 

There  were  twelve  in  the  party,  to  wit :  Mrs. 
Webb,  Frederika,  Watson,  and  ''Toots"; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Purdy,  Dr.  McLane,  JuHan 
Kean,  George  Bird,  my  brothers  Louis  and 
Frank,  and  myself. 

The  unavoidable  delay  caused  by  the  illness 
of  my  daughter,  already  referred  to,  found  the 
season  so  far  advanced  when  the  time  came  to 
start  that  we  were  obliged  to  omit  our  visit  to 
the  city  of  Mexico.  We  decided,  however, 
that  immediately  after  leaving  Omaha  we 
would  travel  to  the  southward  and  eventually 
reach  the  warm  climate  of  Southern  California. 

A  journey  like  this,  interesting  under  ordi- 
nary conditions,  would  seem  to  be  especially 
noteworthy  for  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
performed,  and,  on  that  account,  worthy  of 
beinof  chronicled.  Hence  it  is  that  I  have 
seen  fit  to  give  an  unpretentious  and,  I  trust, 
not  entirely  uninteresting  story  of  our  travels, 
supplemented  by  illustrations  which  will  be 
found  helpful  as  interpreters  of  the  text. 

The  literature  on  the  subject  of  the  western 
part  of  our  country  is  quite  large,  and  I  am 
indebted  to  several  writers  for  the  verification 
and  amplification  of  certain  facts,  which  came 
to  my  notice  generally  during  the  journey — 


viii  Introduction. 

more  particularly  to  the  excellent  works  of 
Brace,  Bowles,  Harper,  Nordhoff,  and  Simpson. 
It  is  said  that  "  travelling  is  no  fool's  errand 
to  him  who  carries  his  eyes  and  itinerary  along 
with  him."  We  certainly  took  good  care  to 
carry  our  eyes  with  us,  making  the  best  use  of 
them  that  we  could,  and  our  itinerary  was 
practically  laid  out  months  before  we  com- 
menced our  undertaking,  which,  at  the  close, 
we  found  to  have  been  full  of  wisdom  and 
pleasure.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  reader 
will  receive,  at  least,  a  reflection  of  these  pleas- 
ant experiences  in  a  perusal  of  the  following 
pages. 

William  Seward  Webb. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


How   We  Travelled 


PAGE 
I 


CHAPTER    H. 
From   New   York  to  Omaha 


CHAPTER    HI. 
Denver   and   Colorado   vSprings 


i6 


CHAPTER    IV 

I 
The  Parks  of   Colorado 


CHAPTER    V. 


Santa  Fe 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Santa   Monica 


23 


29 


39 


IX 


X  Contents. 

CHAPTER    VII. 


Los  Angeles.         .... 

l-AGE 

•       45 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Monterey       ..... 

53 

CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Missions 

.       68 

CHAPTER    X. 
^  The  Yosemite  Valley  .  .         .        8i 

CHAPTER    XI 
San  Francisco       .....      103 

CHAPTER    XII. 
San  Francisco  :  The  Chinese  Quarter      i  18 

CHAPTER    XIII. 
Northern     California     and     Mount 

Shasta    .         .         .         .         .         .130 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
Montana        .         .         .        .  .         .140 


Contents.  xi 

CHAPTER    XV. 

PAGE 

"The  Garden  of  Montana"         .  .      154 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
From   St.  Paul  to   Manitoba       .  .162 

CHAPTER    XVH. 
Mountains  and  Gorges  on  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway   .  .  .181 

CHAPTER    XVHI. 

From  Kamloops  to  Vancouver    .  .198 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
In  Alaskan  Waters     .  .  .  .210 

CHAPTER    XX. 
In  Alaskan  Waters    (Concluded)        .      224 

CHAPTER    XXL 
Victoria  —  Winnipeg  —  H unting    Ex- 
periences        .....      240 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
From  Winnipeg,  Homeward  Bound     .     256 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


YOSEMITE    FALLS  ....... 

THE    SPECIAL    TRAIN  ...... 

A    CORNER    IN    THE    "  ELLSMERE  "       .  .  .  . 

OLD    SAN    MIGUEL   CHURCH,   SANTE  FE,  NEW    MEXICO 

SOUTH    PASADENA,   SIERRA    MADRE    MOUNTAINS,  AND 

HOTEL  ..... 

A    STREET    IN    LOS    ANGELES 

A    FARM    TEAM,    NEAR    MONTEREY 

THE    PALMS    OF    GLENANNIE 

ON    THE    COAST    NEAR    MONTEREY 

THE   LAKE   AT    MONTEREY 

OLD    MISSION    CHURCH    NEAR    MONTEREY 

MARIPOSA    GROVE BIG   TREES  . 

THE   DEAD    GIANT DIAMETER,   30  FEET  S    INCHES 

GLACIER    POINT,    YOSEMITE 

NEVADA    FALLS  .... 

MANITOBA    COWBOY 

THE    SPECIAL   TRAIN   AT   FIELD 

MOUNT    STEPHEN,    CANADIAN    PACIFIC    RAILWAY 

FROM   THE   TOTE    ROAD    NEAR    MOUNT     DONALD 

STONY    CREEK    BRIDGE         ..... 

SKETCH    NEAR    GREAT     GLACIER 

xiii 


Facin" 


Frontispiece. 

I 

3 
30 

RAYMOND 

Facing       42 

46 

57 
58 
61 

63 
69 

84 
Sg 

93 
96 

167 

177 
178 

183 

185 
1S7 


Facing 


Facins^ 


Facins^ 


XIV 


Illustrations. 


CANADIAN    PACIFIC    RAILWAY     STATION     AND     MOUNT     DONALD 

GLACIER Facing 

CANADIAN    PACIFIC    STATION,     FROM    THE    GLACIER    HOTEL 

THE    NARROWS,    BISCOTASING    LAKE  .... 

SKETCH    ON    THE    NORTH    ARM,    BISCOTASING    LAKE    . 

AT    SAILOR    BAR    BLUFF,    BELOW    SPUZZUM 

RED-SUCKER    TUNNKL,    CANADIAN    PACIFIC    RAILWAY 

ROADWAY    IN    STANLEY    PARK,    VANCOUVER        .  .  Facing 

INDIAN    RIVER    CANYON,    FROM    "  PINTA  "  ANCHORAGE,     Facing 

SCENE    IN    INDIAN    TOWN,    SITKA  ...... 

INDIAN    chief's    GRAVE,    ALASKA        ....  Facing 

RUSSIAN    BLOCK-HOUSE,    SITKA  ...... 

FLOATING    ICE,    NEAR    MUIR    GLACIER  .  .  .  Facing 

SKETCH      ON     THE     CANADIAN     PACIFIC      RAILWAY      IN      ERASER 
CANYON SHOWING    THREE    TUNNELS  .... 

VIEW    NEAR    BANFF    .... 

ALASKAN    GAME,    KILLISNOO 

NEPIGON    BAY,    FROM    NEPIGON    STATION 

SKIRTING    NEPIGON    BAY     . 

JACKFISH    BAY  .... 


Facing 


1 88 
191 
193 
195 
203 

205 
206 
210 
225 
226 
231 
234 

243 
245 
254 
257 
260 
261 


CALIFORNIA  AND  ALASKA 


111  11 


1  1    ' 
1  1    i> 

i'  '  ,'» 
'ill 


FROM  NEW  YORK 
TO  CALIFORNIA  AND  ALASKA 


CHAPTER  I. 


HOW  WE  TRAVELLED. 


The  special  train  of  four  cars  in  which  we 
made  our  journey  was  probably  the  most 
thoroughly  equipped  and  most  luxurious  one 
that  has  ever  been  used  by  a  party  of  trav- 
ellers. On  that  account  the  reader  will  be 
interested  in  a  description  of  it. 

The  first  car  was  what  is  called  a  "combi- 
nation car."  The  forward  part  of  it  was  used 
for  the  storage  of  baggage  ;  next  to  this  apart- 
ment was  a  sleeping-room  for  the  cooks  and 


'        c    r 
'f      re 

'r'     '    ', 


2  77?  Califoriiia  and  Alaska. 

porters.  After  this  a  bath-room,  and  next 
adjoining  a  large  smoking-  or  drawing-room, 
at  one  end  of  which  was  a  Chickering  piano, 
and  at  the  other  a  desk,  a  complete  library, 
and  proper  compartments  for  guns,  fishing- 
rods,  and  sporting  paraphernalia.  This  smok- 
inor-room  was  intended  as  a  sitting-room  for 
the  gentlemen  of  the  party  during  the  evening 
or  daytime.  This  car,  called  "  Buffet  No.  60," 
was  kindly  loaned  to  me  by  Mr.  John  Newell, 
President  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan 
Southern  Railway  Company. 

The  dininof-car  came  next.  All  the  tables 
had  been  taken  from  it,  and  in  their  places  an 
ordinary  dining-table,  side-tables,  etc.,  had  been 
put  in,  the  same  as  in  a  house.  Next  came  a 
car  I  had  formerly  used  as  a  special  car,  the 
"  Mariquita,"  which  had  been  remodelled  into 
a  nursery-car,  and  which  was  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Webb,  the  three  children,  two  nurses,  and 
a  maid.  Last  of  all  was  my  new  private  car 
"  Ellsmere."  This  was  occupied  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Purdy,  Dr.  McLane,  Mr.  Louis  Webb, 
Mr.  George  Bird,  Mr.  Julian  Kean,  Mr.  Frank 
Webb,  and  myself. 

In  the  Buffet  car  and  the  "  Ellsmere,"  re- 
spectively the  first  and  last  cars  of  the  train, 


Haw  IVe   Travelled. 


were  large  gongs,  which  could  be  rung  from 
any  of  the  cars  ;  these  were  used  in  the  day- 
time to  call  servants  from  one  part  of  the  train 
to  the  other,  and  were  to  be  used  at  night  in 
case    of    an    attack    by    highwaymen.      There 


'>. 


CZ^  C.ci^^-^^  i^-t±^  o/^d'^M-^-'t^  ' 


have  been  cases  heretofore  where  trains,  like 
stage-coaches  of  old,  have  been  "  held  up  "  and 
their  occupants  compelled  to  deliver  up  their 
valuables  at  the  urgent  request  of  some  des- 
perate border  ruffian.      Such   instances  are,  of 


4  To  California  and  Alaska. 

course,  not  very  common  in  the  present  ad- 
vanced state  of  Western  civilization,  but  we 
thouo^ht  it  advisable  to  follow  the  Irishman's 
suesfestion — "  it  is  better  to  be  sure  than 
sorry," — and  we  were  consequently  well  pre- 
pared to  give  any  such  intruders  a  warm 
reception.  Our  crew  of  men  on  the  train 
during  the  daytime  was  in  charge  of  Colonel 
Oscar  Eastmond,  who  had  served  in  the 
United  States  army  during  the  war,  and  since 
then  had  been  holding  the  position  of  con- 
ductor. On  our  road  to  the  Pacific  coast  we 
had  one  of  Pinkerton's  best  detectives,  who 
took  charge  of  the  train  at  niorht.  After  leav- 
ing  the  Pacific  coast,  Colonel  Eastmond  took 
charge  of  the  train  at  night,  and  slept  in  the 
daytime. 

The  cooking  on  board  our  train  was  in  the 
hands  of  two  of  the  oldest  and  best-tried 
cooks  on  the  road,  and  eight  of  the  best  por- 
ters were  selected  for  the  party.  The  train 
was  also  so  arranged  as  to  be  heated  by  steam 
from  the  eno-ines. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Van  Home,  of 
Montreal,  a  new  steel  steamship,  belonging  to 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Steamship  Company,  and 
which,  about  this  time,  had  just  arrived  on  the 


How  We  Travelled,  5 

Pacific  coast,  was  chartered  for  a  two  weeks' 
cruise  in  Alaskan  waters.  She  was  entered  as 
the  writer's  yacht  in  the  Yacht  Chib,  and  car- 
ried his  yachting  colors  during  the  cruise. 

Our  start  from  under  the  45th  Street  bridge 
at  the  Grand  Central  Depot,  in  the  great  me- 
tropolis, was  marked  by  more  than  the  ordi- 
nary excitement  which  usually  attends  events 
of  that  kind.  A  large  number  of  friends  had 
gathered  there  to  see  the  party  start  out,  and 
to  wave  their  parting  salutes  as  they  called 
out  "  a  pleasant  journey  and  a  safe  return  " — 
a  journey  which  was  to  take  us  four  times 
across  the  continent,  up  into  the  land  of  seals, 
and  through  the  British  dominions. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  OMAHA. 


We  arrived  at  Niagara  Falls  on  Sunday 
morning,  the  7th  of  April.  We  spent  some 
time  in  admiring  the  scenery,  which  was  of 
course  not  new  to  us,  and  with  which  the 
reader  is  probably  familiar.  The  Falls  of 
Niagara  are  beautiful  at  all  times,  but  there 
was  something  in  the  rich,  golden  sunrise  of 
that  lovely  April  morning  which  lent  an  addi- 
tional beauty  to  the  view.  The  sight  of  such 
a  sunrise  recalled  our  early  reading  of  "  Childe 
Harold  "  : 

The  morn  is  up  again,  the  dewy  morn, 
With  breath  all  incense,  and  with  cheeks  all  bloom, 
Laughing  the  clouds  away  with  playful  scorn, 
And  living  as  if  earth  contained  no  tomb, — 
And  glowing  into  day. 

We  started  for  Detroit  at  a  few  moments 
past  five  in   the  morning,  our  first  stop  being 


From  Netv  York  to   Omaha.  7 

at  St.  Thomas,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles 
from  the  Falls,  where  we  changed  engines. 
The  distance  from  St.  Thomas  to  Windsor, 
one  hundred  and  eleven  miles,  we  ran  in  one 
hundred  and  seven  minutes. 

At  Windsor,  where  the  transport  was  in 
waiting  and  where  we  were  transferred  to  the 
Detroit  side,  our  first  mishap  occurred.  In 
taking  the  train  ofi*  the  transport  the  coupling 
between  the  "  Mariquita  "  and  the  dining-car 
was  broken.  This  caused  a  delay  of  three 
quarters  of  an  hour.  From  Detroit  to 
Chicago  our  running  time  was  faster,  if  any- 
thing, than  on  the  Canada  Southern  divi- 
sion, the  indicator  at  one  time  reofisterinof  a 
speed  of  sixty-nine  miles  an  hour.  Between 
Niles  and  Michigan  City,  a  distance  of  thirty- 
six  and  a  half  miles,  we  covered  in  the  remark- 
able time  of  thirty-two  minutes,  including  one 
stop  for  grade  crossing,  which  occupied  at 
least  two  minutes.  We  arrived  at  Kensinof- 
ton,  near  Chicago,  at  5.6,  having  made  the 
run  from  Suspension  Bridge  to  Kensington, 
four  hundred  and  ninety-seven  and  a  half 
miles,  in  eleven  hours  and  eleven  minutes, 
not  including  the  delay  of  three  quarters  of 
an  hour  at  Detroit.      All  switches  were  spiked, 


8  To   California  and  Alaska. 

and  all  freight  and  passenger  trains  side- 
tracked to  enable  us  to  make  this  fast  run. 
Notwithstanding  the  remarkable  speed  at 
which  we  travelled,  none  of  the  party  realized 
the  rapid  rate  at  which  we  ran  all  day. 

In  thinking  over  these  wonderful  perform- 
ances of  locomotive  speed  we  are  reminded 
of  the  phenomenal  growth  and  development 
of  the  railway  in  the  last  century.  It  seems 
almost  incredible  that  the  first  locomotive,  in- 
vented in  London  only  eighty-five  years  ago, 
could  not  make  steam,  and  could  neither  travel 
fast  nor  draw  a  heavy  load.  The  first  loco- 
motive in  this  country  was  run  in  1829,  and 
operated  by  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company,  connecting  the  coal  mines  with  the 
canal.  That  same  year  Peter  Cooper  experi- 
mented with  a  little  locomotive,  and  once  re- 
lated, with  great  glee,  how,  on  the  trial  trip,  he 
had  beaten  a  gray  horse  attached  to  another 
car. 

On  our  arrival  at  Chicago  our  division 
superintendent,  Mr.  Spoor,  and  a  number  of 
railroad  men  were  waitinof  to  meet  us.  The 
party,  with  the  exception  of  the  children, 
went  to  the  Richelieu  Hotel,  where  we  dined. 
In   the   meantime   the  train  was  sent  on  the 


From  JVciv  York  to   O^naha.  9 

belt  line  to  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Depot. 

We  left  Chicago  a  little  after  eight  o'clock 
Monday  morning,  April  8th,  and  arrived  in 
Council  Bluffs,  four  hundred  and  ninety-three 
miles  from  Chicago,  in  about  twelve  hours, 
the  quickest  time  that  has  ever  been  made 
between  these  two  points.  As  on  the  Michi- 
gan Central,  the  road  was  cleared,  and  the 
switches  were  spiked  the  entire  distance.  We 
had  only  one  engine  with  the  same  engineer 
all  the  distance  from  Chicago  to  Council 
Bluffs.  This  circumstance  is  remarkable,  for 
the  distance  has  never  been  covered  before  in 
one  run  by  one  engine.  The  officials  of  the 
road,  however,  had  spare  engines  at  different 
points,  fired  up  with  crews  in  waiting  to  take 
the  place  of  ours  should  anything  give  out. 
A  master  mechanic  was  also  sent  all  the  way 
through  with  the  train,  in  order  to  be  in  readi- 
ness  should  any  accident  occur  to  the  engine. 
Our  engineer,  not  beino-  accustomed  to  the 
last  three  divisions  of  the  road,  had  a  pilot 
over  each  division,  and  was  thus  enabled  to 
keep  up  his  high  speed. 

On  our  arrival  at  Council  Bluffs,  through 
some    misunderstandincT,    the    Union     Pacific 


lo  To   California  and  Alaska. 

Railroad  had  an  engine  and  crew  ready  to  take 
us  throucrh  "special"  to  Ogden,  they  having 
conceived  the  idea  that  it  was  our  intention 
to  go  directly  through  to  the  Pacific  coast  via 
the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  lines,  and  had 
arranged  to  give  us  a  very  fast  run  to  the 
coast.  There  is  no  doubt  that  had  we  eone 
by  their  line  we  should  have  made  the  quick- 
est time  from  ocean  to  ocean  that  has  ever 
been  made,  or  is  likely  to  be  made  for  years 
to  come.  Mr.  Orr,  their  representative,  met 
us  at  the  Union  Depot,  and  taking  special  en- 
gine and  car  we  went  with  him  to  see  the  city 
of  Omaha,  returning  late  in  the  evenine. 

Council  Bluffs  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in 
Western  Iowa.  As  early  as  1846  it  was 
known  as  a  Mormon  settlement  and  called 
Kanesville,  a  name  which  it  retained  until 
1853,  when  the  Legislature  granted  a  char- 
ter designating  the  place  as  the  City  of  Coun- 
cil Bluffs.  The  city  includes  within  her 
corporate  limits  about  twenty-four  square 
miles,  and  the  surrounding  country  is  rich 
in   farming  land. 

PVom  the  appearance  of  the  country  we 
passed  through  at  this  time  we  were  reminded 
that  springtime  was  at  hand.      In  various  sec- 


From  Neiv  York  to    Omaha.  1 1 

tions  we  saw  the  farmers  ploughing-,  and  the 
o^rass  startino-  out  of  the  oTound.  The  soil 
was  of  a  dark  color,  evidently  of  sufficient 
richness  to  be  independent  of  a  fertilizer. 
One  does  not  wonder  that  farmers  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  can  raise  from  forty  to 
forty-five  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre. 

When  we  entered  the  State  of  Iowa,  which 
we  did  after  passing  Fulton,  the  large  amount 
of  stock,  especially  cattle,  seen  on  every  farm, 
was  particularly  noticeable. 

At  every  town  between  Chicago  and  Omaha 
there  were  groups  of  people  at  the  various 
stations,  ranging  in  numbers  from  fifty  to  five 
hundred,  waitinor  to  see  our  train  o-q  throucrh. 
For  it  was  known  all  along  the  line  of  the  road 
that  our  excursion  party  was  coming,  from  the 
fact  that  the  switches  at  all  stations  had  been 
spiked,  all  trains  side-tracked,  and  employes 
of  the  road  near  the  several  stations  had  been 
placed  with  white  flags  at  the  different  cross- 
ings just  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  train. 
These  peculiar  preparations,  of  course,  brought 
an  inquiring  crowd  about,  who  waited  to  see 
our  train  pass  through. 

The  city  of  Omaha,  to  which  point  our  spe- 
cial train  was   taken   on   the   morning   of   the 


12  To    California  and  Alaska. 

9th,  furnishes  a  striking  example  of  Western 
growth  and  enterprise.  Each  time  that  the 
visitor  stops  here  he  finds  some  new  evidence 
of  improvement.  Portions  of  the  town  that, 
but  a  few  months  before,  were  barren  plains, 
are  laid  out  in  streets  and  lined  with  substan- 
tial houses  of  fine  appearance.  The  railroad 
terminals  and  properties  near  the  depot  serve 
to  indicate  that  this  city  is  one  of  the  most 
important  railroad  centres  of  the  West. 

Omaha  was  settled  in  1854,  when  a  few 
squatters  fixed  upon  this  section  for  their 
residence,  the  country  at  that  time  being  a 
part  of  the  Territory  of  Nebraska.  The  sit- 
uation of  the  town  commands  for  it  an  ex- 
tensive trade  with  the  West.  The  shops  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  the  smelting  works 
for  refining  silver  ore  from  the  mountains,  and 
manufactories  of  various  kinds  give  employ- 
ment to  many  mechanics  and  laborers.  The 
bridge  across  the  Missouri,  built  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Company,  and  costing  over  a  million 
dollars,  is  one  of  the  finest  structures  of  the 
kind  in  the  country.  It  stands  sixty  feet 
above  high-water  mark,  and  has,  besides  a 
railroad  track,  a  street-car  track  and  a  wagon 
way. 


From  New  York  to   Omaha.  i 


o 


The  ride  from  Omaha  to  Kansas  City  was 
through  a  part  of  tlie  country  which  was  new 
to  most  of  us,  and  full  of  interest.  We  fol- 
lowed the  river  route  the  whole  distance  to 
Kansas  City,  passing  the  city  of  Leavenworth, 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  flourishing  towns 
in  the  State,  surrounded  by  one  of  the  richest 
agricultural  regions  in  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
souri. In  1853,  only  thirty-six  years  ago,  the 
site  of  this  city  was  covered  with  hazel-brush, 
and  wolves  roamed  about  the  country  unmo- 
lested. Now  it  has  schools,  churches,  acade- 
mies, and  theatres.  It  is  the  headquarters  for 
outfitting  government  supply  trains  for  West- 
ern posts,  and  has  a  very  large  trade  with  the 
Territories.  The  government  farm,  located 
here,  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  productive 
in  the  country.  Fort  Leavenworth,  two  miles 
from  the  city,  is  situated  on  a  bluff  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  and  was  established  in  1827. 
Connected  with  the  fort  is  stabling  for  eight 
thousand  horses  and  fifteen  thousand  mules. 

Our  stop  at  Omaha  was  made  particularly 
agreeable  and  noteworthy  from  the  fact  that, 
soon  after  our  arrival,  Bishop  Worthington  of 
the  Episcopal  Diocese  of  Nebraska  called  upon 
us,  and  took  the  ladies  of  the  party  for  a  drive 


14  To   California  and  Alaska. 

around  the  city.  We  did  not  have  such  a 
pleasant  experience  at  Kansas  City.  Through 
some  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the 
railroad  officials,  our  train,  instead  of  being 
taken  into  the  depot,  was  left  in  the  freight 
yards.  As  a  result  of  this  arrangement,  the 
ladies  were  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  visiting 
various  points  of  interest  in  the  city.  Some 
of  the  gentlemen  of  the  party,  with  considera- 
ble difficulty,  managed  to  find  their  way  to 
the  passenger  depot,  and  rode  about  town  in 
the  well-known  cable  cars.  Thoug-h  Kansas 
City  was  settled  in  1830,  it  was  twenty-five 
years  before  it  began  to  improve  and  increase 
in  population.  After  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  its  commerce  was  almost  ruined,  but  with 
peace  came  prosperity,  and  since  1865  its  ad- 
vance has  been  marvellous.  Kansas  City  has 
the  honor  of  having  built  the  first  bridge 
across  the  Missouri,  which  it  did  at  a  cost 
of  one  million  dollars. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  at  this  place  the 
Pinkerton  night-watchman  reported  for  duty 
— his  services  being  considered  necessary  from 
Kansas  City  to  San  Francisco. 

When  passing  through  Topeka,  on  the  At- 
chison, Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe   Railroad,  Mr. 


From  New  Yoi'k  to   Omaha.  15 

Robinson,  the  General  Manager  of  the  road, 
called  upon  us  and,  on  behalf  of  the  President 
of  the  company,  extended  to  us  the  use  of  his 
company's  line  on  our  Western  trip,  cour- 
teously adding  that  arrangements  had  been 
made  to  make  our  trip  as  pleasant  as  possible. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  at 
this  time,  though  very  flat  and  sparsely  popu- 
lated, seemed  admirably  adapted  to  farming. 
The  appearance  of  the  farms  and  buildings 
showed  that  the  people  enjoyed  more  than 
the  usual  degree  of  prosperity  peculiar  to 
pastoral  life. 

A  notable  sight  served  to  recall  the  past 
history  of  this  country,  and  place  it  in  sharp 
contrast  with  the  present — this  was  the  old 
cattle  trails  used  by  ranchmen  in  driving  their 
cattle  from  Texas  and  the  South  into  Montana, 
Wyoming,  and  Dakota,  before  railroads  had 
been  built  to  perform  such  service  quickly  and 
cheaply.  Sitting  in  our  luxuriously  appointed 
palace-car,  and  noting  this  point  of  interest, 
topfether  with  the  overland  wagfon  roads  used 
in  former  years,  we  could  not  but  recall  the 
vast  progress  that  has  been  made  of  late  years 
in  furnishing  transportation  facilities  for  a 
journey  across  the  continent. 


CHAPTER  III. 


DENVER  AND  COLORADO  SPRINGS. 


We  reached  Pueblo,  the  chief  city  of  South- 
ern Colorado,  on  the  evening  of  April  loth, 
where  we  were  delayed  for  two  hours,  owing  to 
a  wash-out.  The  Spanish-speaking  people  and 
the  French  hunters  and  trappers  who  lived  in 
this  section  before  the  march  of  improvement 
began,  gave  queer-sounding  names  to  the  moun- 
tains, streams,  and  the  small  settlements  as  they 
began  to  be  formed.  Pueblo  is  a  sample  ;  but 
when  the  early  settlers  came  they  soon  changed 
all  this,  and  the  brakemen  on  the  Western 
roads  certainly  have  cause  to  be  thankful  that 
plain  Anglo-Saxon  names  have  replaced  the 
queer  titles  that  were  common  in  the  early  days. 

It  was  so  cold  coming  up  the  grade  over  the 
mountains  that  we  had  to  build  fires  in  all  the 
cars,  but  when  we  reached  Denver  we  found 
the  weather  warm  and  pleasant.      Our  stop  at 

i6 


Denver  and  Colorado  Springs.  i  7 

this  point  was  made  more  agreeable  from  the 
fact  that  we  received  our  mail,  which  had  come 
over  the  Union  Pacific  line  from  Chicago. 
We  sent  a  mail-bagf  East  with  letters  from 
all  parties  to  relatives  and  friends  at  home. 
The  chronicler  of  the  expedition  had  talked 
into  a  phonograph  a  diary  of  the  experiences 
that  had  befallen  the  party  since  starting  from 
New  York.  The  cylinders  containing  this  ma- 
terial were  included  in  the  outgoing  mail,  and 
were  in  such  a  shape  that  they  could  be  trans- 
cribed by  a  clerk  into  "  every-day  English." 

Denver  has  a  right  to  lay  claim  to  the  title 
"  Queen  City  of  the  Plains  "  ;  it  is  to-day  one 
of  the  largest  and,  in  many  respects,  one  of 
the  handsomest  towns  in  the  West.  Twenty 
years  ago  its  population  was  only  fifteen  hun- 
dred ;  to-day  it  has  over  eighty  thousand 
inhabitants.  Thirty  years  ago  the  inhabi- 
tants formed  an  odd  social  mixture.  There 
were  refined  and  educated  men  from  the 
Eastern  towns,  and  there  were  rough  and  dis- 
reputable characters,  hailing  from  the  purlieus 
of  our  QT-reat  cities  and  the  roucrh  settlements 
of  the  far  West,  all  animated  with  one  pur- 
pose— the  search  for  gold.  In  1873  Denver 
suffered  from  the  financial  disaster  which   had 


1 8  To   California  and  Alaska. 

been  felt  in  the  East,  and  in  1875  and  1876  it 
was  visited  with  the  grasshopper  plague,  which 
resulted  in  a  great  loss  of  crops  and  the  with- 
drawal of  a  large  amount  of  capital  from  the 
banks.  After  these  clouds  of  adversity  came 
the  sunshine  of  prosperity,  only  two  years 
later,  in  1877,  when  the  export  of  beeves  was 
the  largest  ever  known.  Two  years  ago  the 
real-estate  sales  amounted  to  $29,345,451,  an 
increase  of  eighteen  millions  over  those  for 
the  year   1886. 

Though  Denver  is  a  thorough,  go-ahead, 
practical  city,  where  money  and  business  en- 
terprise are  highly  appreciated  and  made  the 
most  of,  it  is  claimed  that  the  town  contains 
more  resident  college  graduates  than  any  other 
town  of  the  same  size  in  the  United  States. 
It  makes  no  pretensions  to  be  a  literary  cen- 
tre ;  the  class  of  literature  found  in  its  whole- 
sale and  retail  book-stores,  however,  shows  it 
to  be  abreast  of  the  culture  of  the  day. 

Denver  may  be  called  the  commercial  centre 
of  Colorado,  and,  in  some  respects,  resembles 
the  thriving  town  of  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. It  is  situated  on  a  series  of  plateaus, 
fifteen  miles  from  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.       The  selection    of    the  site  was 


Denver  and  Colorado  Springs.  19 

made  by  accident.  The  early  gold-hunters 
who  went  into  the  State  found  a  few  grains 
of  gold  in  the  sandy  bed  of  Cherry  Creek,  a 
small  stream  that  flows  into  the  South  Platte 
River  near  the  town.  The  hunters  called  the 
place  Auraria,  a  decidedly  appropriate  cogno- 
men. When  it  became  known  that  o-old  had 
been  found  in  this  vicinity,  hunters  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  States  as  well  as  New  Mexico, 
and  it  became,  even  for  those  times,  a  thriving 
settlement,  where  hunters  and  miners  could 
replenish  their  stores  and  complete  their  out- 
fits for  expeditions  into  the  mountains.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  very  little  gold  was  found  here, 
but  the  adventurers  kept  up  the  delusion  of 
the  fabulous  richness  of  the  mountain  placers 
as  long  as  they  could.  When  the  bubble 
finally  burst,  the  town  was  named  Denver, 
in  honor  of  Col.  J.  W.  Denver,  who  was  then 
the  Governor  of  Kansas,  in  which  all  this 
mountain  region  was  at  that  time  included. 
Fifteen  railroads  to-day  centre  in  Denver. 
The  Union  Depot  would  be  a  credit  to  any  of 
our  well-developed  Eastern  cities.  It  is  con- 
structed almost  entirely  of  stone  quarried  in 
the  State,  and  is  503  feet  long  by  69  feet  wide. 
The  central  tower  is  165  feet  high,  and  con- 


20  To    California  and  Alaska. 

tains  an  illuminated  clock.  An  idea  can  be 
formed  of  the  immense  amount  of  railroad 
traffic  carried  on  in  this  structure  when  it  is 
stated  that  over  two  hundred  thousand  pieces 
of  baofSfaee  are  handled  within  its  walls  in  the 
course  of  a  year, 

Denver  is  practically  supported  by  the  three 
great  industries,  mining,  agriculture,  and  stock- 
raising.  Though  silver  was  not  found  until 
1870,  the  yield  of  that  metal  in  1886  was 
nearly  $17,000,000.  Ore  is  sent  to  the  city 
not  only  from  Colorado  but  from  New  Mexico 
and  Old  Mexico,  Montana,  Arizona,  Idaho, 
Oregon,  Nevada,  and  South  America.  Of 
six  million  acres  of  ao;ricultural  land  in  Colo- 
rado,  two  thirds  have  been  taken  up,  and  mil- 
lions of  dollars  are  invested  in  raising  cattle 
and  sheep. 

The  city  itself  has  a  very  inviting  appear- 
ance. We  drove  through  its  handsome  streets, 
and  admired  the  beautiful  residences  and 
buildings  to  be  seen  on  every  hand,  not  for- 
getting that  this  wonderful  development  was 
the  growth  of  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

After  seeing  everything  of  interest  in  the 
city,  and  obtaining  certain  necessary  supplies, 
we  left  for  Colorado  Springs.     This  is  a  beauti- 


Denver  and  Colorado  Springs.  21 

fill  city,  charmingly  situated  at  the  foot  of 
Pike's  Peak.  When  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Pike 
was  ordered,  in  1806,  by  General  Wilkinson, 
to  explore  the  region  between  Missouri  and 
the  frontier  of  Mexico,  he  described  the  great 
peak,  saying  that  it  "appeared  like  a  small 
blue  cloud,"  He  named  it  Mexican  Mountain, 
but  afterwards,  in  honor  of  his  bravery,  it  was 
given  the  name  of  Pike's  Peak. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  we  owe 
the  existence  of  Colorado  Springs  to  a  railroad 
company — or  rather,  to  the  National  Land 
and  Improvement  Company,  which  was  started 
by  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  Com- 
pany. This  organization  purchased  a  tract  of 
land,  five  miles  distant  from  the  Springs,  and 
spent  large  sums  in  laying  out  broad  streets 
and  planting  along  their  sides  rows  of  cotton- 
wood  trees.  It  expended  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  construction  of  a  canal  so  that 
water  could  be  broucrht  to  the  town.  In  order 
to  develop  the  place,  it  gave  a  valuable  build- 
ing lot  for  church  purposes  to  each  of  the 
Christian  denominations.  Each  deed  of  land 
provided  a  heavy  penalty  in  case  liquor  should 
be  sold,  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  on  the 
premises. 


2  2  To    California  and  Alaska. 

How  far  these  temperance  principles  are 
carried  out  at  the  present  time,  we  do  not 
know.  We  have  heard,  however,  that  when  a 
man  wants  his  beer,  he  gets  a  certificate  of 
membership  in  a  "beer"  club,  thus  becoming 
a  shareholder,  and  the  law  cannot  prevent 
him  from  using  the  beverage. 

Colorado  Springs  is  noted,  far  and  near, 
as  a  health  resort,  and,  during  the  summer 
months,  its  hotels  are  crowded  with  health- 
seekers  from  Western  Kansas  and  Southern 
California.  In  the  winter  season  many  New 
Yorkers  and  residents  of  our  laree  Eastern 
cities  are  seen  on  its  streets.  Accordinor  to 
competent  medical  authority,  the  climate  and 
waters  are  good  in  cases  of  nervous  exhaustion, 
bad  circulation,  defective  nutrition,  and  ma- 
laria. The  climate  is  also  said  to  be  good  for 
consumptives,  setting  the  healthy  processes  of 
life  going  with  increased  vigor.  Persons  who 
are  affected  with  heart  trouble,  however,  are 
not  advised  to  visit  this  section  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE    PARKS   OF   COLORADO. 


On  the  morning  of  April  12th,  soon  after 
breakfast,  our  party  divided,  some  starting  in 
carriages,  and  some  on  horseback,  for  Manitou 
and  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  others  taking  a 
different  direction. 

Manitou,  much  to  the  deHght  of  its  resi- 
dents, has  gained  the  name  of  the  Saratoga 
of  the  West.  It  is  about  five  miles  from 
Colorado  Springs,  and  has  grown  from  a 
small  settlement  of  log  cabins  to  a  good-sized 
village.  It  lies  at  the  base  of  Pike's  Peak, 
and  seems  perfectly  hemmed  in  by  surround- 
ing hills,  and  altogether  shut  off  from  the 
outside  world.  The  air  is  very  fine,  and  the 
waters  are  said  to  be  a  cure  for  rheumatism, 
liver  troubles,  blood  poisoning,  and  diabetes. 
It  seems  that  the  Indians  of  Colorado,  in  early 
times,  were  in  the  habit  of  using  these  waters 

23 


24  To    California  and  Alaska. 

when  they  felt  the  need  of  a  tonic.  The  bene- 
ficial effects  of  the  climate  and  the  waters  are 
illustrated  by  the  saying  of  the  Western  man, 
that  he  was  kept  there  simply  as  an  example 
of  what  the  country  would  do  for  a  man,  add- 
ing, that  he  came  from  Chicago  on  a  mattress. 

"  The  Garden  of  the  Gods  "  is  the  fanciful 
title  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  a  valley 
of  small  dimensions,  lying  about  four  miles 
from  Colorado  Springs,  Its  special  features 
are  a  number  of  shelf-like  rocks,  upheaved 
into  perpendicular  position,  some  of  them 
rising  to  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
height.  The  road  enters  the  Garden  throusfh 
a  narrow  passage-way,  between  two  towering 
but  narrow  ledg-es  of  cliffs.  This  entrance  is 
called  the  gateway.  The  rocks  are  mostly  of 
a  very  soft  brilliantly  red  sandstone,  although 
one  ridge  of  cliffs  is  of  a  white  sandstone. 
Some  of  the  foot-hills  in  the  vicinity  are  sur- 
mounted by  similar  upheavals,  forming  ridges 
of  serrated  rock,  while  round  the  main  cliff  in 
the  valley  are  separate  spire-like  columns. 
These  rock  formations  for  years  have  been  a 
feature  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  geologist. 

These  parks  are  really  nothing  more  than 
large  fertile  valleys,  shut  in  by  the  spurs  or 


The  Parks  of  Colorado.  25 

branches  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  North 
Park,  which  Hes  in  the  extreme  northern  part 
of  the  State,  has  not  been  thoroughly  explored 
and  settled,  owing  to  its  remote  situation  and 
colder  climate.  Its  forests  abound  with  bear, 
deer,  and  other  wild  game,  and  it  is  a  favorite 
resort  for  the  adventurous  sportsman. 

Middle  Park  is  directly  south  of  North  Park, 
and  is  surrounded  by  Long's  Peak,  Gray's 
Peak,  and  Mount  Lincoln,  each  from  thirteen 
thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  feet  higfh.  Its 
territory  is  made  up  of  forests  and  large,  ex- 
pansive meadows,  among  the  grasses  of  which 
will  be  found  wild  flowers  of  nearly  every  hue. 
South  Park  lies  below.  It  is  surrounded  by 
high  mountains,  and  its  climate  and  scenery 
are  delightful. 

San  Luis  Park,  in  Southern  Colorado,  is 
about  twice  the  size  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  In  its  centre  there  is  a  beautiful 
lake,  and  its  mountains  are  covered  with  for- 
ests of  pine,  fir,  spruce,  oak,  and  cedar,  and 
large  meadows  which  produce  a  rich  growth  of 
grasses.  Cattle  obtain  the  most  wholesome 
subsistence  on  the  grasses  of  the  plains  below, 
and  medicinal  springs  are  found  in  every 
direction. 


2  6  To   California  and  Alaska. 

Monument  Park,  which  is  reached  by  the 
Rio  Grande  and  Denver  road,  Is  so  called 
from  its  resemblance  to  a  vast  cemetery 
containing  monuments  of  a  departed  and 
lonor-fororotten  race.  These  monuments  are 
composed  of  a  very  close  conglomerate,  sur- 
mounted by  a  material  of  darker  color  and 
harder  texture. 

Two  of  our  party,  on  this  occasion,  with  an 
engine  and  one  of  our  cars,  took  a  trip  up  the 
Colorado  Midland  Railroad,  over  the  moun- 
tains, as  far  as  Green  Mountain  Park.  This 
is  a  beautiful,  sequestered  little  nook,  and  con- 
tains a  summer  hotel,  surrounded  by  green 
and  well-kept  lawns.  There  is  a  fountain,  too, 
and  the  whole  appearance  of  the  place  is  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  cold  peaks  of  granite 
and  snow  that  surround  the  settlement.  On 
our  return  we  took  up  the  rest  of  the  party  at 
a  way  station,  and  all  returned  to  Colorado 
Springs. 

The  scenery  on  the  Colorado  Midland  road 
is  extremely  fine,  and  the  journey  was  espe- 
cially interesting,  from  the  fact  that  we  saw 
some  wonderful  specimens  of  engineering 
work.  The  bridges  and  viaducts  on  this  road 
are  truly  remarkable.      In   places  the  grade  is 


The  Parks  of  Colorado.  27 

from  two  hundred  and  eighty  to  three  hundred 
and  ten  feet  a  mile.  The  curves  are  very  fre- 
quent ;  the  road-bed  winding  first  through  a 
tunnel,  then  passing  over  a  precipice  across 
gorges,  all  the  time  pursuing  a  serpentine 
course,  now  twisting  this  way,  now  that,  in 
making  the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  So  steep 
are  the  gfrades  that  not  more  than  twelve 
freight  cars  are  allowed  to  go  down  the  moun- 
tain with  one  engine,  and  six  of  these  are 
required  to  be  equipped  with  air  brakes. 

As  the  railroad  pursues  its  winding  way 
along  the  side  of  the  mountain,  the  passengers 
can  look  down  into  the  eoree  below,  and  see 
the  old  road  which  the  Forty-niners  used  in 
their  perilous  trips  across  the  continent  to  the 
gold-fields.  Many  travellers,  it  is  said,  were 
waylaid  and  killed  in  this  section  by  the 
Indians  ;  and  many  others  lay  down  to  die, 
utterly  worn  out  with  fatigue,  after  their  long 
and  unsuccessful  wanderincrs  in  search  of  the 
precious  metal. 

From  Colorado  Springs  we  went  to  Pueblo. 
At  that  place,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  offi- 
cials of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railroad, 
an  observation  car  was  placed  at  our  disposal, 
and  we  made   a  run   over  their  line  of  about 


28 


To    California  and  Alaska. 


forty-four  miles  to  Canyon  City,  through  the 
Royal  Gorge,  in  which  the  Arkansas  River  runs. 

In  many  places  the  sides  of  the  canyon 
through  which  this  stream  fiows  are  so  close 
that  the  only  way  a  railroad  could  be  built 
there  was  by  putting  rafters  from  one  side  to 
the  other  and  suspending  the  track  from  them 
over  the  surcjinsf  torrent  beneath. 

Our  party  enjoyed  this  trip  very  much,  and 
returned  to  Pueblo  in  time  for  dinner.  Mr. 
Drake,  Superintendent  of  the  Atchison,  To- 
peka,  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  now  left  us, 
having  been  in  our  company  two  days  ;  he 
had  shown  us  all  the  points  of  interest  along 
the  route. 


CHAPTER    V. 

SANTA  FE. 

On  the  morning  of  April  13th  we  left  Trin- 
idad with  one  enormous  consolidated  loco- 
motive and  one  mogul  locomotive,  and  started 
over  the  Raton  Ranee.  The  crrade  at  this 
point  is  very  steep,  and  it  took  these  two 
heavy  engines  to  haul  our  train  over.  A  little 
over  thirty  years  ago,  "  the  Army  of  the 
West,"  then  under  command  of  General 
Kearny,  marched  over  almost  the  same  route 
the  railroad  takes  to-day.  When  the  soldiers 
crossed  the  Raton  Mountains  they  were  often 
obliged  to  drag  the  wagons  up  with  ropes  on 
one  side,  and  let  them  down  on  the  other  in 
the  same  way. 

At  the  top  of  the  mountains  we  passed 
through  a  lono-  tunnel  and  then  commenced 
the  descent  of  the  western  slope.  The  tunnel 
is  approached  on  either  side  by  a  very  heavy 

29 


30 


To    California  aiid  Alaska. 


grade,  and  in  some  places  shows  singular 
seams  or  streaks  of  coal  in  its  inner  walls. 
Mr.  Dyer,  Superintendent  of  the  New  Mex- 
ico division  of  the  Santa  Fe  road,  had  joined 
us  at  Trinidad,  and  very  kindly  pointed  out 
to  us  the  objects  of  interest.  We  arrived  at 
Las  Vegas  (which,  in  English,  means  "  the 
meadows")  about  noon.  It  is  at  this  point 
that  passengers  leave  the  train  for  the  Hot 
Springs,   about  seven   miles    distant. 


ot- 


f  ■    SI? Illf 


The   old    Plaza,  a  short  distance  away  from 
the  railroad   station   at    Las  Vegas,  is   said  to 


Santa  Fe.  31 

look  about  the  same  as  when  General  Kearny, 
after  crossing  the  mountains,  stood  there  and 
made  an  address  to  the  Mexican  people.  There 
is  an  ancient  church  with  a  rude  cross  in  front.  A 
large  singular-looking  three-story  building  also 
attracts  the  attention  of  the  visitor.  This  is 
a  hotel  evidently  of  a  rather  primitive  pattern. 
A  certain  witty  traveller  once  stopped  here, 
and  the  landlord  assured  him  that  he  had 
slept  in  the  same  bed  which,  centuries  ago, 
had  been  occupied  by  Montezuma.  In  a  burst 
of  confidence  the  landlord  also  added  that  he 
intended  soon  to  put  an  additional  story  on 
the  structure.  "  I  told  him,"  said  the  traveller, 
"  that  he  'd  better  put  a  new  story  on  the 
kitchen,  and  another  coat  of  whitewash  on 
those  slats  I  slept  on." 

The  weather  in  this  section  was  warm,  al- 
most summer-like.  As  we  receded  from  the 
country  we  had  just  been  visiting,  we  looked 
back  and  saw  the  snow-capped  mountains  to 
the  north  of  us,  in  the  distance.  As  we  jour- 
neyed to  the  south  their  towering  icy  peaks 
gradually  grew  smaller  and  smaller,  and  when 
we  finally  gained  a  complete  entrance  into  the 
Southern  land,  they  seemed  like  mere  specks 
on  the  horizon. 


32  To    Califoj^nia  and  Alaska. 

At  Lamy,  where  we  arrived  about  two 
o'clock,  we  left  the  main  line  and  ran  up  to 
Santa  Fe,  reaching  the  quaint  old  city  in  a  little 
over  an  hour.  Our  party  there  divided,  some 
taking-  carriao^es  and  others  walking-  and  start- 
ed  out  to  see  the  town.  The  most  enthusias- 
tic traveller  would  not  call  it  a  very  inspiring 
place.  The  evidences  of  extreme  poverty, 
dirt,  and  squalor  were  met  with  on  every  side, 
and  these  the  bright  sun  and  genial  climate 
seemed  rather  to  enhance  than  to  modify. 
Poverty,  when  seen  in  some  portions  of  a 
tropical  climate,  is  neither  sad  nor  dishearten- 
ing, but  there  was  something  about  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  poor  of  this  town  that  was 
peculiarly  depressing  to  the  visitor.  In  a 
large  public  square  we  noticed  a  number  of 
improvements  being  made  by  a  gang  of  con- 
victs, who  were  guarded  by  keepers  stationed 
around  the  fences,  seated  on  boxes  or  other 
improvised  seats,  each  one  with  a  heavy  Win- 
chester rifie  across  his  lap. 

While  in  this  part  of  the  country  we  can- 
not fail  to  recall  the  fact  that  in  1527a  Spaniard, 
landing  in  what  is  now  Florida,  made  an  over- 
land journey  which  occupied  him  nine  years, 
passing  through   the   country  now   known  as 


San  fa  FL  2,Z 

New  Mexico,  and  finally  reached  the  City  of 
Mexico. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  enterprising 
soldier  and  explorer,  Z.  M.  Pike,  who  did  much 
to  start  the  profitable  trade  over  what  for  years 
has  been  known  as  the  Santa  Fe  Trail.  This 
old  town,  and  the  settlement  adjacent  to  it  had, 
up  to  that  time,  been  dependent  upon  Mex- 
ico for  the  various  supplies  they  needed.  Four 
men  who  started  in  1812,  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  commercial  enterprise,  reached  Santa 
Fe  in  safety,  but  they  did  not  get  back  home 
until  nine  years  later,  having  been  imprisoned 
on  some  pretext  or  other.  In  the  following 
year,  however — 18 13, — the  famous  Santa  Fe 
Trail  was  really  opened.  It  is  about  eight 
hundred  miles  in  length,  and  remains  very 
much  to-day  as  it  was  half  a  century  ago,  when 
the  necessities  of  commercial  intercourse  led 
to  its  being  opened. 

The  first  traders  used  mules  or  pack-horses 
in  carrying  their  merchandise,  and  it  was  not 
until  1824  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to 
employ  wagons  in  the  traffic.  After  this 
method  of  transportation  was  introduced,  the 
amount  of  trade  increased  wonderfully.  The 
initial    points    were    towns    on    the    Missouri 


34  To    California  and  Alaska. 

River,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west 
of  St.  Louis.  What  a  motley  group  of  char- 
acters must  have  gathered  at  these  centres  in 
the  early  days  of  travel  across  the  plains  !  Of 
course  there  were  traders,  adventurers,  plenty 
of  that  class  of  men  who  have  failed  in  nearly 
every  undertaking,  and  who  may  be  called 
"  the  misfits  "  of  life  ;  there  were  young  men 
who  came  from  the  East  to  the  new  country, 
ready  to  take  their  chances  in  almost  any  kind 
of  speculation  ;  and  there  were  old  men  who 
thought,  as  their  lives  were  going  out  toward 
the  setting  sun  of  existence,  their  fortunes 
might  as  well  tend  in  the  same  direction,  and, 
singular  to  say,  there  were  many  invalids  who 
believed  that  this  rough  journey  across  the 
plains,  with  its  open-air  life  and  excitement, 
might  be  to  them  a  means  of  regaining  the 
health  they  had  lost. 

The  quaint  wagons,  or  "schooners,"  as  they 
came  to  be  called,  were  at  first  drawn  by 
horses,  then  mules,  and  finally  by  mules  and 
oxen.  A  party  or  caravan  would  number 
about  one  hundred  wagons,  and  would  be 
divided  into  four  equal  sections,  each  in 
charge  of  some  responsible  man.  At  night 
the   caravan    would    come   to   a   halt,    form   a 


Santa  Fe.  35 

hollow  square,  and  each  member,  in  turn, 
would  be  obliged  to  mount  oruard.  If  these 
lay  soldiers  could  have  stood  up  together,  the 
sight  of  them  would  surely  have  furnished  a 
greater  fund  of  amusement  than  Falstaff's 
raesred  band  of  warriors,  for  here  were  men 
representing  not  only  all  degrees  of  fortune, 
but  all  the  leading  nationalities,  some  of  them, 
durinof  their  midnicrht  visfils,  as  brave  and 
tempestuous  as  the  lion-hearted  Richard, 
others  exhibitine  the  amusing-  cowardice  of 
Bob   Acres. 

In  addition  to  the  merchandise,  each  wagon 
carried  a  good  supply  of  staples,  flour,  sugar, 
coffee,  and  bacon  ;  for  fresh  meat  they  de- 
pended upon  killing  buffaloes  along  the  route. 

One  of  the  most  interestinor  thinors  we  saw 
as  we  came  down  the  Raton  Range  through 
a  pleasant  valley,  was  the  large  "  Maxwell 
Grant."  representing  one  and  three-quarter 
million  acres.  While  we  were  passing  through 
this  section,  we  saw  thousands  and  thousands 
of  cattle  roaming  about,  and  twice  during  the 
day  our  train  ran  into  a  number  of  them  that  had 
broken  through  the  wire  fence,  unfortunately 
killing  a  few  of  the  poor  creatures  each  time.  It 
was  a  strange  sight,  also,  to  see  beautiful  ante- 


o 


6  To    California  and  Alaska. 


lope  occasionally  dart  up  close  to  the  track, 
and  then  scamper  away  at  the  sound  of  the 
locomotive  whistle. 

Our  journey  over  the  Atchison,  Topeka, 
and  Santa  Fe  road  we  found  very  interesting 
on  account  of  the  beautiful  scenery  along  the 
route.  The  mechanical  and  working  condition 
of  the  road,  also,  was  far  better  than  we  had 
expected  to  find  it.  Its  motive  power  is  cer- 
tainly equal  to  that  of  any  road  in  the  Eastern 
States,  and,  as  far  as  could  be  seen,  it  is  kept 
in  perfect  repair. 

A  word  or  two  about  our  domestic  life  upon 
the  train,  to  which,  by  this  time,  we  had  be- 
come thoroughly  accustomed.  It  certainly 
seemed  strange  to  us,  while  travelling  through 
a  wild  and  desolate  country,  to  listen  to  the 
notes  of  the  piano  in  the  buffet-car,  which  we 
found  the  pleasantest  of  lounging  places,  as 
we  spent  nearly  every  evening  after  dinner 
there  singing  and  playing,  the  ladies  generally 
retiring  about  ten,  the  rest  of  the  party  about 
eleven,  after  talking  over  what  we  had  seen 
during  the  day. 

It  was  a  long  journey  for  children  to  under- 
take, but  they  remained  perfectly  well,  and  it 
was   surprising   to    see  how  quickly  the  little 


Santa  Fe.  o^y 

ones  became  used  to  the  motion  of  the  train. 
For  two  or  three  days  after  we  started,  it  was 
a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  for  them  to 
maintain  their  equilibrium  in  their  journeys 
about  the  car  ;  this  was  particularly  the  case 
with  the  baby.  They  had  many  a  fall,  which, 
however,  in  the  excitement  of  the  journey, 
they  took  with  much  good-nature,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  they  could  navigate  about 
their  swift-moving  nursery  with  as  much  con- 
fidence as  the  oldest  railroad  conductor  on  the 
road. 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  good-fortune  to  us 
that  we  broup^ht  the  dinino-room  car,  for  there 
was  scarcely  a  meal  at  which  there  were  not 
present  one  or  two  guests.  On  various  divi- 
sions of  the  roads  we  travelled  over,  we  enter- 
tained the  officials  who  showed  us  so  much 
courtesy,  and  it  would  have  been  utterly  im- 
possible to  have,  cooked  for  such  a  large  party 
in  the  kitchen  of  either  the  "  Ellsmere"  or  the 
"  Mariquita."  We  found,  too,  that  our  stores 
held  out  well,  which  was  a  matter  to  be  thank- 
ful for,  as  it  would  have  been  very  difficult,  in 
fact  impossible,  to  get  some  of  them  in  the 
sparsely  settled  country  through  which  we 
passed.      We  received    telegrams   from   home 


38 


To    California  and  Alaska. 


every  day,  and  were  thus  kept  en  rapport  with 
the  domestic  scenes  we  had  left,  and  we  were 
careful  to  send  dispatches  quite  as  often  to  the 
members  of  our  respective  families. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


SANTA   MONICA. 


Owing  to  some  misunderstanding-,  we  were 
delayed  in  getting  a  crew  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  lost  considerable  time 
on  this  account.  This  was  the  only  road  we 
had  been  over  which  did  not  provide  a  division 
superintendent  to  call  attention  to  the  scenery 
and  point  out  the  objects  of  interest.  The 
country  was  flat,  and  deserted-looking,  and  the 
train  meandered  through  it  over  a  poor  road- 
bed at  a  slow  rate  of  speed.  As  we  came 
over  the  Arizona  divide  down  to  the  Colorado 
River,  the  scenery  was  very  fine.  When  we 
crossed  Canon  Diablo,  the  gruesome  remem- 
brance came  to  us  that  but  two  weeks  before 
that  time  a  train  was  "  held  up  "  by  robbers. 

While  singing  hymns  on  Sunday  evening, 
at  a  station  where  the  train  stopped  to  take 
water,  an    old   resident   of   the   neighborhood 

39 


40  To   California  and  Alaska. 

came  to  our  buffet-car,  the  door  of  which  had 
been  left  open  on  account  of  the  heat.  He 
received  a  pleasant  greeting,  and  apologized 
for  his  intrusion  by  saying  that  he  wanted  to 
hear  us  sing  the  hymns  and  play  the  piano,  as 
the  music  was  something  he  never  heard  out 
there  ;  it  was  thirty  years  since  he  had  been 
in  any  part  of  the  country  where  religious 
tunes  were  sunof. 

The  scenery  near  a  point  called  Flag  Staff 
was  very  peculiar  and  different  from  anything 
that  we  had  seen  on  this  road  thus  far.  An 
hour  or  so  before  reaching  this  point,  we  en- 
tered a  large  grove  of  yellow  pine-trees  through 
which  we  rode  until  we  reached  the  station 
mentioned.  We  passed  through  the  Mojave 
Desert  early  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  April 
15th;  as  there  was  a  very  heavy  dew  the 
night  before,  we  fortunately  did  not  suffer 
from  the  dust  to  any  extent.  This  desert 
must  truly  be  a  terrible  place  to  pass  through 
on  a  hot  summer's  day.  With  the  exception 
of  the  stubbly  cactus,  not  a  particle  of  vege- 
tation of  any  kind  can  be  seen  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach. 

On  our  arrival  at  Barstow,  the  officials  of 
the  California  Central  Railroad  gave  our  train 


Sa?ita  Jllonica,  41 

a  fine  run  over  the  San  Bernardino  Moun- 
tains. In  the  hicrh  altitudes  which  we  trav- 
ersed  we  passed  through  snow  near  the 
summits  of  the  hilltops  ;  then,  coming  down 
the  mountain  (the  grade  being  one  hundred 
and  ninety  feet  per  mile  ;)  we  gradually  entered 
a  beautiful  green  and  fertile  valley.  The 
town  of  San  Bernardino,  which  was  an  old 
Mormon  settlement,  is  located  here,  and  just 
before  entering  it,  we  passed  through  an 
orange  crrove  covered  with  a  wealth  of  beau- 
tiful  flowers.  The  o^rass  in  the  fields  was 
growing  luxuriantly,  and  the  contrast  between 
the  cold  and  desolation  of  the  mountain 
heights  we  had  just  left  and  the  beautiful 
valley  we  were  entering  was  truly  remarkable. 

The  whole  valley  is  walled  in  by  bold  and 
precipitous  mountains  formed  of  soft,  white 
stone,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  white 
sand.  Fruit  of  all  kinds  grows  in  abundance, 
particularly  the  orange  and  the  lemon. 

From  San  Bernardino  we  took  the  Cali- 
fornia Southern  road  to  Los  Angeles,  passing 
through  Pasadena,  celebrated  for  its  orange 
and  fruit  groves  ;  the  temptation  to  stop  here 
was  very  great,  but  had  to  be  resisted.  At 
Los  Anofeles  the  aeent  of  the  Central   Pacific 


42  To   California  and  Alaska. 

Railroad  Company  met  our  party,  presenting 
a  very  kind  letter  from  Mr.  Towne,  the  Gen- 
eral Managfer,  who  urered  us  to  make  our  own 
plans  for  travelling  over  his  road,  stating  that 
every  convenience  would  be  at  our  command, 
and  adding  that  we  should  not  hesitate  to  call 
upon  him  for  any  service  we  wanted.  An 
engine  and  crew  were  placed  at  our  disposal 
immediately  with  orders  to  remain  with  us  as 
long  as  we  required  their  services. 

We  left  at  once  for  Santa  Monica,  a  charm- 
ing watering-place  on  the  coast  but  a  few  miles 
distant.  It  was  here  that  we  obtained  our 
first  view  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  sight  of 
which  served  to  remind  us  more  strongly  than 
could  a  glance  at  our  itinerary  of  the  vast 
amount  of  territory  we  had  covered  ;  for  it 
was  only  nine  days  before  this  that  we  had 
left  the  Grand  Central  Depot  in  New  York, 
and  felt  the  warm  hand-pressure  of  our  friends 
who  had  bade  us  good-bye.  Considering  the 
number  of  nights  we  did  not  travel,  and  the 
number  of  days  spent  in  visiting  different 
points  of  interest,  the  trip  had  been  truly  re- 
markable. We  had  cause  to  be  thankful,  also, 
that  there  had  been  no  accidents  of  any  im- 
portance, and  that  all  our  party  were  In  the 


Q 
Z 


< 

o 
z 


z 

O 


o 


Pi 


< 
z 

w 


o 

t/2 


Santa  Monica.  43 

enjoyment  of  perfect  health.  Every  part  of 
our  train,  up  to  this  time,  stood  the  trip  re- 
markably well,  with  the  exception  of  the  brake 
shoes,  the  wear  upon  which  was  so  severe 
coming  over  the  Raton  Range,  that  they  had 
to  be  renewed  later  on. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  sea-coast  the  children 
expressed  their  joy  by  scampering  on  the 
beach,  and  one  of  our  party  visited  the  swim- 
ming-baths in  the  vicinity.  The  air  was  de- 
lightful, and  blossoming  roses  and  flowers 
could  be  seen  in  the  beautiful  garden  in  front 
of  the  hotel. 

Santa  Monica,  though  a  small  town,  is  beau- 
tifully located,  and  has  been  called  the  Long 
Branch  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Its  population  is 
very  largely  increased  during  the  summer 
months.  The  hotel,  a  magnificent  building, 
standing  against  a  mountain  side,  is  owned  by 
the  railroad  company.  The  upper  stories 
open  upon  the  bluff,  and  the  lower  floors  upon 
the  beach.  During  our  stop  here  our  train 
stood  on  a  platform  overhanging  the  Pacific 
Ocean  at  the  edge  of  the  bluff.  We  remained 
here  until  after  dark.  The  nigfht  was  clear 
and  the  moon  shone  brightly  over  the  waves 
as  they  chased  each  other  toward  the  beach. 


44  To   California  and  Alaska. 

The  landscape  was  beautiful,  and  recalled  those 
lines  of  "  The  Culprit  Fay": 

'T  is  the  middle  watch  of  a  summer  night, 

The  earth  is  dark,  but  the  heavens  are  bright, 

Naught  is  seen  in  the  vault  on  high 

But  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the  cloudless  sky, 

And  the  flood  that  rolls  its  milky  hue, 

A  river  of  light  on  the  welkin  blue. 

What  might  have  been  a  serious  accident 
aroused  our  party  quite  early  the  following 
morning  ;  a  servant  notified  us  that  the  dining- 
car  was  on  fire,  and  the  crew  could  not  put  it 
out.  The  fire  extinguishers  had  been  used, 
but  not  with  entire  success.  It  was  not  until 
a  portion  of  the  roof,  which  was  discovered  to 
be  very  hot  had  been  cut  through  that  the 
flames  burst  through  the  aperture.  The  fire 
raged  with  considerable  violence,  but  was 
quickly  extinguished  when  once  the  source  of 
the  trouble  had  been  found.  The  accident 
was  caused  by  the  use  of  soft  coal  in  the 
kitchen  range. 

We  left  Santa  Monica  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
mornino-  and  arrived  at  Los  Angeles  after 
about  an  hour's  ride. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


LOS  ANGELES. 


On  reachinor  Los  Angeles,  a  number  of 
mechanics,  who  were  in  waiting,  promptly  re- 
paired the  damage  to  our  car,  and  the  party 
went  to  a  hotel  for  lunch. 

Los  Angeles  is  the  oldest  and  largest  city 
in  Southern  California.  It  is  situated  in  a 
narrow  valley,  on  a  river  named  after  the  town, 
and  is  about  twenty-two  miles  from  the  sea. 
Along  the  banks  of  this  river,  for  miles,  are 
vineyards  and  orange  groves,  which  are  the 
pride  of  the  place.  The  town  has  grown 
wonderfully  during  the  past  few  years,  on 
account  of  its  reputation  as  a  health  resort. 
Here  and  there  may  be  seen  one-story  houses, 
built  in  the  Spanish  style,  their  flat  roofs  cov- 
ered with  asphaltum,  which  abounds  in  the 
neighborhood.  There  is  a  rich  tin  mine  at 
Temescal,  about   sixty  miles  distant,  and  the 

45 


46 


To   California  and  Alaska. 


San  Gabriel  placer  gold  mines  lie  about  twenty 
miles  to  the  northeast. 

The  business  portion  of  Los  Angeles  is 
quite  handsome,  and  it  is  only  in  the  Ameri- 
can portion  of  the  town  that  the  streets  are 
laid  out  with  that  painful  regularity  common 
to  most  American  cities.  The  original  Span- 
ish   quarter,   not   now,   however,  occupied   by 


many  members  of  that  nationality,  is  separated 
from  the  American-built  part  of  the  town  by 
what  is  called  the  ''plaza"  adjoming  a  good- 
sized  hotel.  There  are  large  mercantile  houses, 
bank  buildings,  and  pretentious-looking  hotels 
that  line  the  broad  main  street,  the  regularity 
of  which  is  occasionally  broken  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  small  adobe  house. 

The    oranee-trees  at  Los  Angfeles  bear  at 


Los  Angeles.  47 

from  seven  to  ten  years  of  age  ;  from  the  age 
of  twelve  until  they  cease  bearing  they  are 
said  to  average  twenty  dollars  per  tree  per 
annum.  At  this  rate,  sixty  trees  to  the  acre, 
allowinof  one  thousand  orancres  as  the  average 
yield  per  tree,  would  give  a  gross  result  of  twelve 
hundred  dollars.  Trees,  in  well-kept  orchards, 
occasionally  average  fifteen  hundred  oranges 
each.  It  is  said  that  an  American  settler  has 
a  grove  in  this  place  containing  two  thousand 
trees,  which,  when  sixteen  years  old,  averaged 
fifteen  hundred  oranges  per  tree,  and  has  con- 
tinued to  yield  about  the  same  each  year  since. 
Another  man  had  a  erove  of  sixteen  hundred 
and  fifty  trees,  some  of  which  bore  as  many  as 
four  thousand  oranges,  the  average  being  fif- 
teen hundred  to  the  tree. 

Among"  other  fruits  that  are  raised  in  this 
section  are  apples,  walnuts,  pears,  peaches, 
pomegranates,  figs,  nectarines,  and  olives. 
The  income  from  EncrHsh  walnuts  is  estimated 
at  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars 
per  acre  ;  from  olives,  at  from  two  hundred  to 
five  hundred  dollars  ;  the  vineyards  will  pro- 
duce from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  pounds  per 
acre.  The  olive  is  propagated  by  cuttings 
from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  long,  the  slips  being 


48  To   California  and  Alaska. 

put  into  the  ground  perpendicularly  about  six 
or  eight  inches  apart.  The  trees  bear  in  four 
or  five  years,  but  they  do  not  produce  a  full 
crop  until  they  are  ten  or  twelve  years  old; 
they  continue  to  yield,  however,  until  they  are 
very  old.  Trees  that  are  threescore  and  ten 
years  old  will  bear  one  hundred  gallons  of 
olives  ;  the  average  yield  is  about  twenty-five 
gallons  per  tree.  If  the  olive  is  to  be  pickled, 
it  is  gathered  before  it  is  ripe  ;  we  get  the 
phrase  "  olive-green  "  from  the  looks  of  the 
fruit  at  this  time,  for  when  ripe  it  has  a  ma- 
roon color,  and  looks  very  much  like  a  damson 
plum.  When  the  unripe  fruit  is  gathered  it  is 
placed  in  tight  barrels  or  casks,  through  which 
water  is  allowed  to  percolate  ;  then  it  is  put  in 
strong  brine,  and  is  ready  for  use  in  a  few 
days.  The  methods  for  manufacturing  the  oil 
are  being  improved  upon  every  few  years,  and, 
even  in  their  crude  state,  were  an  advance  on 
the  old  Jewish  plan,  which  seems  to  have  been 
to  tread  out  the  oil  with  the  feet.  Seventy 
trees  to  the  acre  should  yield  about  one  thou- 
sand four  hundred  gallons  of  berries,  and 
twenty  gallons  of  berries  yield  about  three 
ofallons  of  oil,  which  is  worth  from  four  to  five 
dollars  per  gallon,  wholesale. 


Los  Angeles.  4q 

California  olives  are  said  to  be  better  than  the 
foreign  fruit,  because  they  have  more  sunshine 
and  a  richer  soil.  An  olive  orchard  will  yield 
about  nine  hundred  dollars  gross  per  acre. 
There  is  one  old  olive-tree  near  Santa  Barbara 
that  is  thirty  years  old,  and  that  has  yielded 
forty-eight  dollars'  worth  of  oil  for  several 
years  in  succession.  A  grove  of  old  olive- 
trees,  which  was  planted  by  Spanish  mission- 
aries,  seventy  years  ago,    is  still  a  source  of 

income  to  its  owner. 

* 

It  is  said  that  the  largest  grape-vine  in  the 
world  grows  about  three  miles  from  Santa 
Barbara,  and  a  pleasant  story  is  told  about  how 
it  came  to  be  planted.  At  the  end  of  the  last 
century  a  young  Spanish  lady  started  from 
Sonora  on  horseback  to  visit  the  country  in 
question.  Just  before  leaving,  her  lover  broke 
from  a  neighboring  grape-vine  a  branch,  tell- 
ing her  to  use  it  for  a  riding-whip.  When  the 
young  woman  arrived  at  the  end  of  her  jour- 
ney, being  of  a  more  sensible  turn  of  mind 
than  most  young  people  passing  through  the 
sentimental  stage  of  life,  and  wishing  to  pre- 
serve the  gift  of  her  lover,  she  planted  the  slip 
in  the  ground.  The  vine,  according  to  the 
story,  appears  to  have  been  quite  as  thrifty  as 


50  To    California  and  Alaska. 

the  far-famed  been-stalk  we  heard  about  in  our 
childhood,  for  it  attained  immense  proportions, 
and  astonished  the  natives.  The  trunk  is  four 
feet  four  inches  in  circumference.  After 
reaching  the  heicrht  of  eieht  feet  from  the 
ground  it  sends  out  its  branches,  which  are 
trained  on  horizontal  trellises  supported  by 
posts  ;  so  that  the  vine  which  started  from  a 
riding-whip  is  made  to  cover  an  area  of  five 
thousand  square  feet.  Its  annual  yield  for 
many  years  has  been  from  ten  to  twelve  thou- 
sand pounds  of  grapes.  By  a  singular  coinci- 
dence, a  fig-tree  grows  near  by,  over  which  a 
portion  of  the  vine  extends,  so  that  literally 
the  owner  of  this  vineyard  could  sit  down  under 
her  own  vine  and  fig-tree.  The  lady  died  when 
she  was  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years  old. 
Much  of  the  past  beauty  of  this  vine  was 
destroyed  when  a  portion  of  it  was  sent  to 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  a  few  years  ago. 

It  would  have  been  pleasant,  if  we  could 
have  spared  the  time,  to  have  remained  longer 
in  this  section,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
parts  of  the  State.  Southern  California  in- 
cludes seven  counties  :  San  Diego,  San  Ber- 
nardino, Los  Angeles,  Ventura,  Santa  Bar- 
bara,   San   Luis    Obispo,    and    Kern.      These 


Los  Angeles.  5 1 

counties  contain  about  fifty  thousand  square 
miles,  or  more  than  thirt}'  milHon  acres  of  land, 
and  represent  nearly  one  third  of  the  territory 
of  the  whole  State.  San  Diego,  the  farthest 
county  to  the  south,  is  large  enough  to  be  a 
principality.  Gold  was  found  in  the  Isabella 
Mountains,  forty-two  miles  northeast  of  the 
town  of  San  Diego,  in  1870,  but  the  ore 
did  not  turn  out  to  be  very  rich.  Twelve 
miles  from  the  town,  which  is  five  hundred 
miles  from  San  Francisco,  and  twenty-five 
from  Los  Angeles,  a  stone  monument,  erected 
by  the  government,  indicates  where  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  ends  and  that  of 
Mexico  beofins. 

San  Bernardino  County,  the  largest  in  the 
State,  consists  in  a  great  measure  of  dry  and 
desert-like  valleys,  and  inaccessible  mountains. 
As  already  stated,  there  was  a  Mormon  settle- 
ment here  in  1847,  ^^'^  it  was  abandoned  by 
those  people  in  1856,  when  they  went  to  Salt 
Lake  City. 

What  Southern  California  can  do  for  the 
industrious  immigrant  is  illustrated  in  the 
settlement  called  Anaheim,  located  twenty 
miles  south  of  Los  Angeles.  This  place  was 
founded    by    an    association    of    Germans    in 


52  To   California  aiid  Alaska. 

1857  ;  the  land,  consisting  of  eleven  hundred 
acres,  being  divided  into  fifty  lots  of  twenty 
acres  each,  having  a  space  in  the  centre  for 
local  improvements.  The  party,  at  the  out- 
set, consisted  of  fifty  members,  all  Germans, 
of  different  occupations  and  persuasions.  The 
land  was  a  barren  plain,  and  cost  two  dollars 
per  acre.  The  lots  were  fenced  in  by  planting 
willows,  sycamores,  and  poplars,  and  one  half 
of  each  lot  was  set  out  in  grape-vines.  For 
three  years  Indians  and  Mexicans  were  hired 
to  do  the  work,  the  stockholders  pursuing 
their  regular  vocations  at  home.  An  irri- 
ofatinof  canal  seven  miles  lonof  was  excavated, 
together  with  subsidiary  ditches,  thus  securing 
the  thorouoh  irrigfation  of  the  whole  tract.  In 
i860  the  assessments  were  all  paid  in,  the  lots 
were  assigned  in  a  drawing,  and  the  owners 
took  possession  and  went  to  w^ork.  Ten  years 
later  a  million  grape-vines  were  growing,  most 
of  them  bearing  fruit,  and  there  were  ten 
thousand  fruit-trees  on  the  place.  The  popu- 
lation numbered  four  hundred,  and  the  village 
contained  a  public  school,  a  post-office,  and  a 
church. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


MONTEREY. 


We  left  Los  Angeles  at  three  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  April  i6th,  making  a  pleasant  run 
to  Mojave,  where  we  passed  the  regular  passen- 
ger train  on  Its  way  to  San  Francisco.  It  was 
a  beautiful,  clear  moonlisfht  nlcjht,  and  the 
scenery,  coming  down  the  mountain,  was  so 
magnificent,  that  we  res^retted  we  had  not 
started  three  hours  earlier.  The  weather  was 
so  warm  that  we  could  keep  the  car  doors 
open,  and  sit  in  the  observation-room  in  the 
rear  of  the  train,  all  lights  having  been  put  out. 
The  odor  and  freshness  of  the  vegetation,  as 
we  passed  through  the  valleys,  was  something 
exquisite,  and  long  to  be  remembered.  With 
the  beauty  of  the  night,  the  magnificent  scenery, 
and  the  fragrant  exhalations  from  the  surround- 
ing  country,  the  hour  was  very  late  before  we 
retired. 

53 


54  To    Califor?iia  and  Alaska. 

When  we  awoke  in  the  morning,  about  half- 
past  six  o'clock,  it  Avas  in  the  middle  of  one  of 
the  most  beautifid  and  luxuriant  valleys  we 
had  ever  seen.  We  had  read  much  about  the 
beauties  of  California,  but  the  richness,  the 
luxuriance,  the  boundless  wealth  of  the  vegeta- 
tion which  we  saw  in  this  section  was  something- 
far  beyond  even  our  greatest  expectations.  To 
be  sure,  we  saw  the  country  at  its  best,  for  we 
arrived  there  in  the  height  of  the  spring  sea- 
son ;  it  would  scarcely  be  possible,  however, 
to  imagine  any  natural  scene  of  this  kind  which 
could  be  more  beautiful. 

Leaving  the  main  line  at  Lathrop  we  went 
to  Niles,  from  there  to  San  Jose.  The  famous 
Almaden  Mines  are  located  about  fourteen 
miles  from  San  Jose.  The  view  from  the 
mountain  at  this  place  is  full  of  wildness  and 
beauty.  There  are  elevated  peaks  to  be  seen 
in  every  direction,  and  the  green  hillsides  are 
marked  by  the  tracks  made  by  sheep  and  goats, 
which  love  to  feed  upon  the  sweet  grass  and 
wild  oats.  The  mountain  road  is  bordered  by 
flowers  of  a  crimson  and  glowing  hue,  the 
Mexican  sage,  the  wild  gooseberry  and  currant, 
the  scrub-oak,  and  poison-oak — a  little  shrub 
dangerous  to  touch, — and  a  profusion  of  un- 


Monterey.  55 

known  foliage,  rich  in  coloring  and  luxuriant 
of  growth.  The  miners  and  their  families  live 
in  cabins  and  huts,  of  various  sizes  and  degrees 
of  comfort,  built  upon  the  broken  surface  of 
the  mountain  in  a  very  irregular  and  pictu- 
resque manner. 

The  ore  from  which  quicksilver  is  procured 
is  called  cinnabar,  and  was  worked  by  the 
Indians  for  the  vermilion  powder  it  contained, 
with  which  they  used  to  paint  their  persons. 
A  Mexican  officer,  in  1846,  bribed  the  Indians 
to  show  him  the  location  of  the  mines.  A 
Mexican  company  was  formed,  named  after 
the  most  valuable  mines  of  mercury  in  the 
world — the  Almaden  Mines,  in  the  province  of 
La  Mancha,  Spain.  The  shaft  of  the  mine 
runs  hundreds  of  feet  straight  down  into  the 
earth,  and  the  ore  is  brought  up  in  iron-bound 
buckets.  The  men  descend  to  their  work,  and 
come  back  again  to  the  tunnel  leading  to  the 
mouth  of  the  engine-room,  by  means  of  the 
bucket.  The  tunnel  is  very  dark,  and  its  walls 
drip  with  damp.  Among  the  miners  are  many 
Mexicans,  who  have  considerable  skill  and  ex- 
perience in  this  kind  of  work  ;  and  there  are 
also  English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  and  Irish  among 
the  workers. 


56  To   California  and  Alaska. 

After  a  delay  of  half  an  hour  at  San  Jose, 
we  started  for  Monterey,  at  which  point  we 
arrived  about  ten  o'clock.  The  place  charmed 
us  at  once,  being  one  of  the  finest  we  had  ever 
seen.  We  had  all  been  talking  of  the  beauties 
of  Southern  California,  of  the  fruits  of  Los 
Angeles,  of  the  beach  at  Santa  Monica,  of  the 
richness  of  the  country  around  San  Bernardino 
and  Pasadena,  but  the  charms  of  Monterey 
exceeded  anything  we  had  thus  far  seen.  The 
walks  and  drives  throucrh  the  Park  were 
delightful,  and  the  place,  as  a  health  resort, 
undoubtedly  has  no  equal  in  the  country. 
We  were  very  pleasantly  located  on  the  sec- 
ond story  of  the  Hotel  Del  Monte,  facing  the 
south,  our  rooms  all  being  sunny,  and  our 
comfort  provided  for  in  the  most  thoughtful 
manner  by  the  hotel  proprietor.  We  met  here 
several  invalids,  who  spoke  most  enthusiasti- 
cally of  the  health-restoring  properties  of  the 
place.  They  told  us  how  they  had  stopped  at 
Thomasville,  the  Hot  Springs,  at  Las  Vegas, 
Pasadena,  and  other  places,  of  how  they  had 
suffered  there  in  one  way  or  the  other,  and 
added  that  after  they  arrived  in  Monterey, 
and  had  been  there  a  few  days,  they  felt  as  if 
they  were  on  the  sure  road  to  health.      Every- 


Monterey 


57 


thing  at  this  place  tends  to  make  one  feel 
cheerful  and  hopeful.  We  noticed  that  the 
number  of  healthy  people  far  exceeded  the 
contingent  of  invalids,  which  is  a  very  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  cure  of  disease,  and  there 
were  none  of  those  depressing  surroundings 
which  are  so  often  met  with  at  the  regular 
health  resorts. 

The   bathing  pavilion    connected  with   the 
hotel  is  certainly  a  wonder  in   its  way.      It  is 


^~,-^   /^tnK, /^<a*«<_ 


quite  large,  being  about  four  hundred  feet 
square,  has  a  glass  roof,  and  is  filled  with 
palms.  In  the  centre  are  four  large  tanks. 
In  the  first  one,  used  for  women  and  children, 
the  water  is  from  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and 
its  temperature  about  eighty-five  degrees. 
The  next  tank  is  about  five  feet  deep,  with  a 
temperature  of  seventy-five  degrees ;  the  third 
about  seven  feet  deep,  with  a  temperature  of 
seventy.     The  fourth  tank  is  about  eight  feet 


58  To    California  and  Alaska. 

deep,  and  contains  the  natural  sea-water, 
which  is  pumpeci  into  it  without  being  heated. 
The  accommodations  in  the  way  of  dressing- 
rooms,  in  both  the  male  and  female  departments, 
are  perfect  in  their  way.  It  is  certainly  one 
of  the  most  complete  bathing  establishments  in 
the  country. 

Those  who  have  read  Dana's  "  Two  Years 
before  the  Mast "  will  remember  that  he  speaks 
of  visiting  Monterey,  at  a  time  when  its  life 
must  have  been  very  picturesque.  He  speaks 
of  the  pride  people  took  in  tracing  back  their 
ancestry  to  the  Spaniards,  saying  that  the 
least  drop  of  Spanish  blood  was  held  to  be 
sufficient  to  raise  them  from  the  rank  of  slaves 
and  entitle  them  to  a  suit  of  clothes,  boots, 
hat,  cloak,  spurs,  long  knife,  and  all  complete, 
however  coarse  and  dirty  they  might  be.  The 
native  women  were  excessively  fond  of  dress, 
and  nothinor  was  more  common  than  to  see  a 
woman  living  in  a  house  of  only  two  rooms,  and 
the  ground  for  a  floor,  dressed  in  spangled  satin 
shoes,  silk  gown,  high  comb,  and  gilt,  if  not 
eold,  earrings  and  necklace.  He  was  struck 
with  the  fineness  of  the  voices  and  beauty  of 
the  intonations  of  both  sexes.  Common-look- 
ing ruffians,  with  slouched   hat,  blanket  cloak. 


< 
z 

•J 


Monterey.  59 

dirty  under-dress,  and  soiled  leather  leggings, 
appeared  to  speak  pure  and  elegant  Spanish. 
A  common  bullock  driver,  on  horseback  deliv- 
ering a  message,  seemed  to  speak  like  an 
ambassador  at  an  audience ;  in  fact  they 
seemed  to  be  a  people  on  whom  a  curse  had 
fallen,  which  had  stripped  them  of  every  thing 
but  their  pride,  their  manners,  and  their 
voices. 

The  town  was  under  Mexican  rule  at  this 
time,  its  chief  officer  being  a  governor-general, 
appointed  by  the  central  government  at  Mex- 
ico ;  then  there  was  a  commandant,  and  two 
or  three  alcaldes  and  corregidores,  who  were 
civil  officers,  elected  by  the  inhabitants.  Dana 
tells  us  that  the  houses  at  that  time  were  of 
one  story,  built  of  clay  made  into  large  bricks, 
about  a  foot  and  a  half  square,  three  or  four 
inches  thick,  and  hardened  in  the  sun.  These 
were  cemented  together  by  mortar  of  the  same 
material,  the  whole  being  of  a  common  dirt 
color.  The  floors  were  generally  of  earth,  the 
windows  grated  and  without  glass,  and  the 
doors  opened  directly  into  the  common  room. 
The  men  in  Monterey  always  appeared  to  be 
on  horse-back,  and,  there  being  no  stables,  the 
animals  were  allowed    to    run   wild   wherever 


6o  To    California  and  Alaska. 

they  pleased,  being  branded,  and  having  long 
lariats  attached  to  their  necks,  dragging  along 
behind  them,  and  by  which  they  could  be 
easily  taken.  The  men  used  to  catch  one  in 
the  morning,  throw  a  saddle  and  bridle  upon 
him,  and  use  him  for  the  day  and  let  him  go 
at  night,  catching  another  the  next  day. 

We  remained  nearly  two  weeks  at  Monterey, 
thoroughly  enjoying  our  visit.  While  we  were 
here,  a  num.ber  of  mechanics  came  from 
San  Francisco,  by  order  of  Mr.  Towne,  and 
overhauled  our  train,  changing  some  springs  in 
the  "  Ellsmere,"  "  Mariquita,"  and  buffet-car, 
and  putting  on  a  new  coupler  in  place  of  the 
one  between  the  "  Mariquita"  and  dining-car, 
which  we  were  obliged  to  repair  at  Detroit. 
The  train  was  also  thoroughly  cleaned,  both 
Inside  and  out,  and  carefully  aired. 

Every  day  we  all  went  in  swimming,  while 
the  afternoons  were  occupied  with  drives  along 
the  picturesque  beach,  or  up  the  valley.  On 
Easter  Sunday  we  attended  church  at  a  little 
town  called  New  Monterey,  about  six  miles 
distant.  As  the  children  all  showed  a  marked 
improvement  in  health,  particularly  the  little 
girl  for  whom  our  trip  was  delayed,  our  stay 
at  Monterey  was  principally  on  their  account. 


Monterey.  6 1 

Our  evenings  (which  were  generally  spent 
sitting  around  a  large  open  fire  in  the  office 
of  the  hotel,  which  resembles  very  much  the 
Profile  House  in  the  White  Mountains,  though 
of  course  the  building  at  Monterey  was  a 
great  deal  larger   and  the  ceilings  very  much 


higher)  were  varied  by  exhibitions  on  the 
graphophone,  which  we  brought  from  New 
York,  many  of  the  people  at  the  hotel  never 
having  seen  one.  It  was  the  opinion  of  our 
party  that  this  hotel  was,  without  exception, 
one    of    the    cleanest    and    most    neatly    kept 


62  To   California  and  Alaska. 

hotels  to  be  found  in  the  United  States.  On 
one  afternoon  we  all  went  down  to  our  train, 
after  lunch,  and  gave  a  little  reception  to  the 
friends  we  had  made  in  the  hotel,  closing  with  an 
informal  afternoon  tea.  Our  cook  had  pre- 
pared a  very  palatable  cold  collation,  and  our 
crew  took  as  much  pride  and  pleasure  in  this 
social  occurrence  as  we  did  ourselves. 

On  Saturday,  April  20th,  one  of  those  ex- 
quisite days  that  can  only  be  found  in  this 
climate,  we  enjoyed  a  picnic  given  by  two 
gentlemen  of  our  party,  in  the  pine  grove  on 
the  ocean  drive.  Early  on  that  morning,  with 
the  two  stewards  of  our  train,  and  servants 
from  the  hotel,  they  drove  out  to  the  grove 
and  prepared  the  lunch.  About  twelve  o'clock 
we  took  two  larg-e  four-in-hands  and  drove  out 
to  meet  them.  We  arrived  about  one  o'clock 
and  enjoyed  a  most  delightful  repast,  after 
which  one  of  the  party  took  three  or  four 
photographic  views  of  the  scene. 

The  neat  appearance  of  the  Hotel  Del 
Monte,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  was  largely 
due,  according  to  the  statement  of  its  manager, 
to  the  use  of  Chinese  servants,  about  sixteen 
of  whom,  divided  into  gangs  of  four,  were  con- 
stantly engaged  in  the  work  of  cleaning.      The 


Monterey 


63 


head-eardener  of  the  hotel  i^^rounds  g^ave  some 
very  interesting  information  in  regard  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  laid  out,  Chinese 
laborers  being  employed  to  do  the  work. 

The  Chinese,  as  laborers,  are  very  impor- 
tant factors  in  the  industrial  civilization  of  the 
far  West.      Nearly    every    town    west    of    the 


y'Hc-fi/eA.t^ 


Rocky  Mountains  and  Utah  has  its  Chinese 
quarter.  They  swarm  along  the  line  of  the 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  are  found  in  the  old 
mining  gulches  of  the  mountains.  In  every 
village  of  California,  Oregon,  Idaho,  Nevada, 
and  up  in  British  Columbia  they  are  met  with, 


64  To    California  and  Alaska. 

eneaeed  in  some  kind  of  service,  as  cooks, 
table-waiters,  nurses,  gardeners,  laundrymen, 
railroad  builders,  miners,  agriculturists,  serv- 
ants, and  as  assistants  in  manufacturing 
establishments.  They  beo^an  to  come  to  the 
Pacific  States  in  1852,  and  though  their 
capacity  is  very  limited,  being  confined  prin- 
cipally to  the  power  of  imitation,  they  learn 
quickly,  and  they  are  quiet,  clean,  and  faith- 
ful, and  do  not  go  on  "  sprees,"  as  some  of 
their  white  neighbors  do.  On  account  of  their 
genius  for  imitation  they  make  good  cooks,  and 
they  are  very  successful  in  cultivating  a  small 
vegetable  garden.  The  Pacific  Railroad  would 
have  been  delayed  some  years,  and  cost  much 
more  money,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  mate- 
rial advantage  gained  by  Chinese  labor. 

One  of  our  most  enjoyable  afternoon  drives 
was  with  a  four-in-hand,  and  covered  a  dis- 
tance of  seventeen  miles,  part  of  the  trip  being 
through  a  delicious  pine  woods.  This  drive  is 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  around  Monterey. 
While  near  the  shore  we  passed  rocks  whose 
tops  just  appeared  above  the  water,  and  were 
covered  with  seals.  These  seals,  or  Califor- 
nian  sea-lions  as  they  are  sometimes  called, 
have   always   been   objects  of   interest  to  the 


Monterey.  65 

traveller  in  these  parts.  They  crawl  up  from 
the  water  awkwardly  and  blunderingly,  like 
babies  just  beginning  to  creep,  and  spread 
themselves  out  over  the  rocks,  lying  there  as 
if  in  a  comatose  state.  Now  and  then  they 
raise  their  heads  and  utter  a  loud  j^iercing 
bark,  apparently  without  any  purpose  what- 
ever. When  a  party  of  two  or  three  are  on  a 
rock,  and  they  are  disturbed  by  a  new-comer, 
there  is  a  languid  sort  of  combat,  and  a  great 
deal  of  barking  and  grumbling,  when  all  of  a 
sudden,  seeming  to  tire  of  these  useless  pro- 
ceedings, they  suddenly  plunge  into  the  sea. 
When  from  the  water  you  approach  a  point 
occupied  by  a  numerous  herd,  you  hear  their 
long  plaintive  bowlings,  as  if  in  distress  ;  but 
when  near  them  the  sounds  become  more 
varied  and  deafening.  The  old  males  roar  so 
loudly  as  to  drown  the  noise  of  the  heaviest 
surf  amonof  the  rocks  and  caverns,  and  the 
younger  of  both  sexes  croak  hoarsely,  or  send 
forth  sounds  like  the  bleating  of  sheep  or  the 
barking  of  dogs.  What  is  called  a  "  rookery" 
of  matured  animals  presents  a  ferocious  and 
defiant  appearance  ;  but  usually  at  the  approach 
of  man  they  become  alarmed,  and  if  not  opposed 
in  their  escape  roll,    tumble,    and  sometimes 


66  To   Califor7iia  and  Alaska. 

make  fearful  leaps  from  high  precipitous  rocks 
to  hasten  their  fiio^ht.  It  is  a  sino-ular  fact 
that  young  seals,  from  their  birth  until  they 
are  six  weeks  old,  are  utterly  unable  to  swim. 
They  learn  this,  to  them,  very  necessary  ac- 
complishment, by  going  to  the  margin  of  the 
surf  and  floundering  around  in  the  pools,  after 
which  they  make  slow  and  clumsy  progress  in 
learning  the  knack  of  swimming.  By  repeated 
and  persistent  efforts  the  young  seal  gradually 
becomes  familiar  with  the  water,  and  ac- 
quainted with  his  own  power  over  that  ele- 
ment, which  is  to  be  his  real  home  and  his 
whole  support.  Once  having  learned  the  art, 
the  young  one  fairly  revels  in  his  new  happi- 
ness. 

Naturalists  affirm  that,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  seal  is  a  very  clumsy  animal,  and 
with  a  very  small  head,  compared  to  the  size 
of  his  bodv,  his  intellisfence  is  greater  than 
that  of  many  land  animals.  Those  who  saw 
the  seals  in  Barnum's  exhibition  two  years  ago 
will  certainly  be  prepared  to  confirm  this  state- 
ment. The  seals  on  the  rocks  near  the  Cliff 
House,  San  Francisco,  become  almost  friendly 
with  some  of  the  residents  of  the  hotel,  cer- 
tainly as  tame  as  ordinary   domestic   animals. 


Monterey 


67 


But  long  before  Barniim's  seals  were  exhibited, 
there  was  a  trained  seal  shown  in  London, 
who  could  bow  to  his  visitors,  and  showed  con- 
siderable intelligence  in  performing  tricks. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE    MISSIONS. 


No  record  of  a  journey  In  the  far  western 
section  of  the  United  States  would  be  com- 
plete without  some  account  of  the  famous 
Spanish  missions.  In  the  State  of  California 
alone  there  are  about  fifty  towns  whose  names 
bear  the  prefix  of  the  Spanish  word  Saiiy 
equivalent  to  saint.  That  there  is  a  religious 
or,  at  all  events,  an  ecclesiastical  significance 
attached  to  these  settlements,  will  be  apparent 
at  once.  The  story  of  these  missions  is  ex- 
ceedingly interesting,  and  yet  remains  to  be 
written  with  the  fulness  and  accuracy  the  sub- 
ject deserves.  A  few  years  before  his  death, 
our  poet  Longfellow,  in  acknowledging  the  re- 
ceipt of  a  monograph  on  this  subject  of  the 
missions,  wrote  to  the  giver,  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia :  "  A  strano-e  feellno-  of  romance  hovers 
about  those  old  Spanish  missions  of  California,. 

68 


TJlc  Missions. 


69 


difincult  to  define,  and  difficult  to  escape.  They 
add  much  to  the  poetic  atmosphere  of  the 
Pacific  coast." 

The  first  permanent  mission  in  California 
was  founded  at  Loretto,  in  1697.  From  that 
point,  Christianity  gradually  extended  to  the 
north,   stations   were    established   at   different 


points,  and  efforts  made  to  christianize  the 
Indians.  The  missionaries  were  frequently 
attacked  by  the  red  men,  and  the  progress 
that  was  made  was  accompanied  by  consider- 
able loss  of  life.  Later  on,  the  Jesuits  came 
to  this  section,  but  met  with  a  very  poor  re- 
ception, until,  at  last,  every  Jesuit  in  the  State 
was  carried  off  a  prisoner.     These  Jesuits  were 


70  To   Califoj^nia  and  Alaska. 

replaced  by  Franciscan  monks,  who  always 
travelled  in  parties  of  twelve.  A  party  of 
them  reached  Loretto,  which  was  then  the 
centre  of  the  mission  work,  in  i  768.  By  order 
of  the  Mexican  Government,  three  missions 
were  founded  in  Upper  California — one  at  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey  in  the  north,  another  at 
San  Dieofo  in  the  south,  and  a  third  at  San 
Bonaventura  in  the  middle  district.  The  ex- 
pedition started  out  in  three  divisions,  one 
by  land,  and  two  by  sea.  The  mission  of 
San  Diego  was  founded  on  the  i6th  of  July, 
I  769,  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  of  that  name. 
The  native  Indians  were  apparently  friendly, 
and  everything  seemed  to  promise  success.  No 
sooner,  however,  had  the  missionaries  erected 
two  houses  and  a  chapel,  and  were  congratulating 
themselves  on  the  prospective  success  of  their 
undertaking,than  the  Indians  commenced  depre- 
dations. The  door  of  the  priest's  dwelling  was 
only  a  mat,  and  before  they  could  resist  their 
assailants  four  or  five  of  the  inmates  were 
wounded.  Not  long  after  this,  however,  ami- 
cable relations  were  established  with  the 
natives.  This  was  the  first  of  the  series  of 
missions  which  were  established  along  the 
coast.      The  new  settlement  was  placed  under 


The  Missions.  Ji 

the  tutelary  guardianship  of  the  patron  saint 
of  the  Franciscans,  San  Diego,  the  Spanish  for 
St.  James,  and  his  name  was  given  to  the  mis- 
sion and  the  bay  near  which  it  was  situated. 
In  the  year  1810  San  Diego  was  the  largest 
mission  in  the  State,  though  this  was  not  by 
any  means  a  gauge  of  worldly  prosperity. 

The  mission  San  Luis  Rey  was  one  of  the 
largest  establishments  of  this  kind.  It  was 
founded  in  the  wilderness  on  the  banks  of  the 
San  Luis,  right  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian 
country.  It  was  started  in  a  thatched  cottage, 
and  became  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  missions.  Its  church  of  stone  is  ninety 
feet  deep,  and  rises  at  one  end  in  a  beautiful 
tower  and  dome  ;  and  from  its  facade  there  ex- 
tends a  colonnade,  not  without  architectural 
beauty,  and  nearly  five  hundred  feet  long, 
while  in  depth  it  is  almost  of  equal  dimensions. 
Father  Peyri,  its  founder,  was  not  only  an 
architect  but  an  able  mission-director.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  had  thirty-five  hundred 
Indian  converts,  scattered  in  twenty  ranches, 
and  the  whole  place  bore  marks  of  industry, 
peace,  and  plenty. 

In  the  early  days  of  these  missions,  some 
singular  customs  came  into  the  Church.    There 


72  77?    California  and  Alaska. 

were  certain  practices  of  ceremonial  used  by 
the  Indians  that  were  gradually  introduced 
into  the  Church  service,  not  with  the  approval 
of  the  priests,  but  tolerated  by  them.  Indian 
Catholics,  for  instance,  were  in  the  habit  of 
dancing-  before  the  shrine  of  a  saint ;  or  rather, 
it  should  be  said,  the  custom  was  pursued  by 
the  very  young  female  converts.  The  practice 
had  prevailed  in  Mexico,  probably  as  a  relic  of 
paganism,  where  it  was  also  tolerated,  but  not 
approved.  There  is  an  anecdote  told  by  a 
Spanish  writer  about  the  attempt  of  an  arch- 
bishop to  prohibit  this  dancing  as  sacrilegious. 
This  raised  such  a  tumult  among  the  people 
that  the  archbishop  appealed  to  the  Pope. 
The  Pope  ordered  that  the  boys  and  girls 
should  be  brought  to  Rome  in  order  that  he 
miofht  see  them  dance.  After  he  had  witnessed 
the  performance,  he  laughingly  ordered  that 
they  should  be  allowed  to  dance  until  the 
clothes  they  had  on  w  re  worn  out.  The  young 
people  took  the  hint,  and  shrewdly  saw  to  it 
that  their  clothes  were  always  renewed  piece- 
meal, so  as  never  to  be  really  new,  and  thus, 
according  to  the  Pope's  decision,  the  dancing 
was  allowed  to  go  on  without  direct  slight  to 
the  archbishop's  scruples. 


The  Missions.  73 

Generally  speaking,  what  may  be  called  the 
mission  era  in  California  began  in  i  769  and 
lasted  until  1823,  Between  those  years 
twenty-one  missions  were  established,  extend- 
ing from  San  Diego  in  the  south  to  San 
Rafael  and  Sonoma  north  of  San  Francisco. 
The  mission  of  San  Francisco  was  started  in 
a  rustic  chapel  in  1776,  and  the  country  around 
the  bay  was  explored  by  the  missionaries. 

Most  of  the  missions  were  laid  out  in  the 
form  of  a  hollow  square  ;  the  enclosing  wall  of 
adobe  bricks  was  twelve  feet  hiorh  and  three 
hundred  feet  in  length,  on  each  side.  A  rec- 
tangular building,  eighty  or  ninety  yards  in 
front,  and  about  as  deep,  composed  the  mis- 
sion. In  one  end  was  the  church  and  parson- 
age. The  interior  was  a  large  and  beautiful 
court,  adorned  with  trees  and  fountains,  sur- 
rounded by  galleries,  on  which  opened  the 
rooms  of  the  missionaries,  stewards,  and 
travellers,  the  shops,  schools,  store-rooms,  and 
granary.  In  fact,  the  mission  was  at  once  a 
religious  station,  a  fortress,  and  a  town.  A 
population  was  gathered  around  this  centre, 
sometimes  by  persuasion,  and  sometimes  by  a 
show  of  force,  and  the  people  were  taught  to 
construct  habitations  outside  the  walls,  and  in- 


74  To    California  and  Alaska. 

structed  in  the  various  arts  of  peace  and  civil- 
ization. These  small  communities  prospered 
for  fifty  years  ;  they  were  havens  of  rest 
during  the  peaceful  and  pastoral  days  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

Connected  with  the  mission  was  a  buildinof 
called  the  monastery,  where  Indian  girls  were 
taught  by  native  women  spinning  and  weav- 
ing, and  other  duties  peculiar  to  their  sex. 
The  boys  were  taught  trades,  and  those  who 
showed  excellence  were  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  chiefs,  thus  giving  a  dignity  to  labor  and  an 
impulse  to  exertion. 

Each  mission  was  directed  by  two  friars, 
one  of  whom  took  charore  of  the  religious  in- 
struction,  while  the  other  was  the  superinten- 
dent of  the  outside  labors.  It  is  surprising, 
considering  the  small  facilities  at  hand,  how 
much  these  missionaries  accomplished  in  agri- 
culture, architecture,  and  mechanics.  They 
built  mills,  machines,  bridges,  roads,  canals  for 
irrigation,  and  succeeded,  even  in  that  early 
day,  in  transforming  hostile  and  indolent  sav- 
ages into  industrious  carpenters,  masons, 
coopers,  saddlers,  shoemakers,  weavers,  stone- 
cutters, brick-makers,  and  lime-burners.  A 
United    States     commissioner    (Bartlett)    has 


The  ^fissions.  75 

borne  testimony  to  the  good  work  done  at 
that  time.  "  Five  thousand  Indians,"  he  says, 
"were,  at  one  time,  collected  at  the  mission  of 
San  Gabriel.  They  are  represented  to  have 
been  sober  and  industrious,  well  clothed  and 
fed  ;  and  seem  to  have  experienced  as  high  a 
state  of  happiness  as  they  are  adapted  by 
nature  to  receive.  They  began  to  learn  some 
of  the  fundamental  principles  of  civilized  life. 
The  institution  of  marriage  beg^an  to  be  re- 
spected,  and,  blessed  by  the  rites  of  religion, 
grew  to  be  so  much  considered  that  deviations 
from  its  duties  were  somewhat  infrequent 
occurrences." 

In  1834  the  property  of  the  missions  was 
secularized,  and  they  rapidly  decayed.  In  1846 
they  were  taken  by  the  United  States,  and  in 
1847  they  had  a  population  of  450.  At  the 
mission  of  San  Gabriel,  at  this  time,  excellent 
wine  was  being  produced,  and  ships  loaded 
with  the  products  of  the  mission  sailed  regu- 
larly for  Lima  and  San  Bias.  The  missions 
collectively  contained  30,650  Indians,  424,000 
head  of  cattle,  62,500  horses,  322,000  sheep, 
and  raised  annually  123,000  bushels  of  wheat 
and  maize.  This  property,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  government,  was  handed   over  to 


76  To    California  and  Alaska. 

the  authorities,  who  allotted  some  to  each 
family.  The  missionaries  were  allowed  rations 
for  their  support.  The  civil  war,  the  discovery 
of  gold,  which  drew  a  new  population  to  the 
country,  and  the  disappearance  of  the  Indians 
to  the  mountains  and  forests,  led  to  the  disso- 
lution of  the  missions,  as  they  were  originally 
established. 

We  resume  the  story  of  our  journey.  On 
the  evening  of  April  2 2d,  an  agent  of  the 
Yosemite  stacre  line  came  from  San  Francisco 
to  Monterey,  for  the  purpose  of  making  final 
arrangements  for  our  trip  to  the  far-famed 
valley.  It  was  planned  that  we  should  have 
special  stages  all  the  way  in  and  out,  with  the 
probability  of  making  the  return  journey  from 
the  Yosemite  in  one  day.  This  trip  has  never 
before  been  made  in  a  shorter  time.  The  fol- 
lowing morning,  the  23d,  we  took  our  bath  a 
little  earlier  than  usual,  and  gathered  our 
things  together  preparatory  to  leaving  on  the 
two-o'clock  train. 

We  came  as  far  as  San  Jose  on  the  regular 
train.  A  special  engine  met  us  at  this  place 
and  took  the  car  "  Ellsmere"  through  to  Oak- 
land. The  rest  of  our  train  had  been  left  at 
Monterey,  with  all  the  crew,  except  George  de 


The  Missions.  J  J 

Barr,   our  chief  steward,  Armstrong,  and  our 
cook,   Scotty. 

We  arrived  at  Oakland  about  six  o'clock. 
This  is  the  principal  town  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  San  Francisco  Bay,  almost  directly  opposite 
the  "  Golden  City"  itself.  The  city  owes  its 
name  to  its  macrnificent  ofroves  of  live  oaks  in 
which  it  was  originally  built,  but  it  has  now 
grown  far  beyond  their  limits.  These  trees 
are  not  merely  ornamental,  but  subserve  a 
useful  purpose  for  parts  of  the  town,  in  screen- 
inor  them  from  the  fierce  winds  which  come 
through  the  gap  of  the  Golden  Gate  in  the 
summer  months,  and  to  the  force  of  which 
Oakland  is  especially  exposed.  The  Univer- 
sity of  California  is  located  here,  and  consists 
of  various  colleges  devoted  to  arts,  letters,  and 
professional  life.  The  drives  around  the  city 
are  very  beautiful,  quite  equal  to  those  of  San 
Francisco,  and  good  roads  penetrate  the  sur-  ' 
rounding  country  in  every  direction.  At  Oak- 
land Point,  two  miles  from  the  city,  there  is  an 
immense  iron  pier  over  the  bay  to  the  ferry- 
boat, which  conveys  passengers  and  freight  to 
the  city  of  San  Francisco.  This  wonderful 
pier,  or  rather  wharf,  is  on  the  east  side  of 
San    Francisco,   and    is    eleven   thousand    feet 


78  To    California  and  Alaska. 

long,  running  ovit  to  a  depth  of  twenty-four 
feet  at  low  tide,  and  of  thirty-one  feet  at  high 
tide.  Upon  its  last  thousand  feet  it  has  twelve 
railroad  tracks,  a  wide  carriage-way,  a  passen- 
ger depot  and  railroad  offices,  warehouses,  and 
outside  storage  for  forty  thousand  tons  of 
grain  or  other  merchandise,  and  three  large 
docks,  one  of  which  affords  ample  space  for  five 
of  the  largest  steamers  or  clippers  afloat.  The 
piles  used,  where  the  water  deepens,  are  sixty- 
five  feet  long,  and  are  forty-two  to  fifty-four 
inches  in  circumference.  The  main  wharf  is 
eight  hundred  feet  wide  at  the  extreme  or 
western  end,  and  on  it  are  pens  for  five  hun- 
dred cattle,  two  immense  warehouses,  and  a 
large  passenger  depot. 

At  Oakland  we  were  met  by  Mr.  Curtis,  Mr. 
Towne's  assistant  general  manager,  who  took 
us  over  to  San  Francisco,  where  we  all  had  din- 
ner at  the  Cafe  Riche.  After  dinner  we  walked 
back  to  the  boat,  and  took  the  9.15  train  for 
the  south.  As  our  train  was  leavino-  the 
depot,  an  officer  on  the  staff  of  General  Miles, 
commanding  the  Department  of  the  Pacific, 
presented  us  with  the  General's  card,  saying 
that  he  hoped  we  would  notify  him  of  our 
return   to   the    city,    in   order    that    he    might 


The  Missions,  7g 

render  some   service  to  make   our  stay  in  San 
Francisco  agreeable. 

We  reached  Berenda  about  four  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  April  24th,  then  took  a  branch 
line  to  Raymond,  arriving  there  about  three 
hours  afterwards.  After  breakfast  we  took  a 
four-horse  stage  and  started  for  Wawona,  which 
is  sometimes  called  Clark's.  We  had  dinner 
at  a  half-way  station  called  Grant's.  The  drive 
was  exceedingly  interesting  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  driver  managed  his  horses,  and 
also  on  account  of  the  kind  of  horses  used  for 
this  work.  We  changed  horses  seven  times 
between  Raymond  and  Wawona,  each  change 
consisting  of  four  horses.  It  was  surprising 
to  see  what  wiry  beasts  they  were,  and  what 
an  immense  amount  of  work  they  could  accom- 
plish. Our  shortest  drive  between  the  changes 
was  six  miles.  On  this  we  had  four  half-wild, 
wiry,  Nevada  ponies,  roans,  and  they  literally 
ran  all  the  distance.  Their  speed  was  so  great 
that  we  were  very  much  concerned  lest  they 
should  run  away  entirely  ;  but  we  were  fortu- 
nate in  having  an  expert  driver  to  go  over 
the  route  with  us.  The  manner  in  which  the 
stage  would  whirl  around  corners  and  dash 
down  hills  was  quite  appalling,  and  made  the 


8o 


To    California  a7id  Alaska. 


remembrance  of  past  experiences  in  the  Cats- 
kills  and  the  White  Mountains  seem  tame, 
almost  uninteresting.  But  all  this  rapid  driv- 
ing was  done  with  good  judgment.  The  brakes 
were  tightly  applied  to  the  wheels  when  occa- 
sion required,  the  effect  being  to  bind  the  run- 
ning-gear and  the  body  of  the  vehicle  together, 
thus  preventing  any  swaying  motion  and  any 
possibility  of  upsetting.  When  night  came  we 
all  felt  fatigued,  and,  after  a  short  walk,  retired 
early,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  a  timely  start 
on  the  following-  morning^. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  YOSEMITE  VALLEY. 


On  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  April  we  rose 
at  five  o'clock,  and,  after  a  hurried  breakfast, 
started,  with  a  light  wagon  and  four  horses,  to 
see  the  Big  Trees.  Two  members  of  our  party, 
Mr.  and  Mrs,  Purdy,  did  not  accompany  us  on 
this  trip,  as  they  had  visited  the  scene  about 
three  years  ago. 

The  Big  Trees  are  certainly  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  features  of  California  scenery.  No 
other  one  of  the  natural  curiosities  of  the  Pa- 
cific States  has  become  so  widely  known  as 
these  trees.  They  were  discovered  in  1852, 
and  at  once  became  famous  over  the  world, 
more  particularly  on  account  of  the  exagger- 
ated statements  in  regard  to  their  size  and  age. 
There  are  several  groves  of  them,  such  as  the 
Calaveras,  the  Mariposa,  the  South  Grove,  the 
Frezno   Grove,  and  probably  many  others  not 

81 


82  To   Califoi'7iia  and  Alaska. 

yet  discovered.  Although  the  name  of  "  I. 
M.  Wooster,  1850,"  is  carved  on  one  of  these 
trees,  it  was  not  till  1852  that  a  hunter,  by  the 
name  of  Dowd,  having  wounded  a  bear,  while 
pursuing  his  calling  in  these  parts,  really  dis- 
covered them.  He  was  following  up  the 
wounded  animal,  when  he  came  to  a  group  of 
these  monsters  of  the  forest.  In  his  wonder 
at  the  sight  he  forgot  all  about  pursuing  the 
bear,  and  quickly  returned  to  his  camp,  where 
he  told  his  companions  what  he  had  seen.  His 
story  was  received  with  shouts  of  laughter  and 
derision.  Wishing  to  prove  the  truthfulness 
of  his  tale,  a  few  days  afterwards  he  told  his 
companions  that  he  had  shot  a  big  grizzly  bear 
up  in  the  mountains,  and  requested  their  help 
to  get  the  beast.  The  party  started  off,  Dowd 
leading  the  way  over  the  path  he  had  followed 
a  few  days  before,  until,  finally,  he  brought 
them  face  to  face  with  the  Big  Trees  ;  they 
saw  at  once  that,  though  he  had  deceived  them 
about  the  bear,  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  ex- 
aggeration in  regard  to  the  trees.  So  it  ap- 
pears that,  though  Wooster,  whose  identity 
never  seems  to  have  been  established,  may  have 
first  discovered  them,  Dowd,  the  hunter,  was 
the  first  to  make  them  known  to  the  world. 


The    Yoseviite    Valley 


83 


These  trees  have  been  seen  by  visitors  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  have  been  viewed 
with  feellnors  of  awe  and  wonder.  The  Cala- 
veras  Grove  Is  five  miles  long,  and,  by  some 
travellers,  is  considered  the  most  desirable  to 
visit ;  but  we  think  the  majority  of  sight-seers 
would  prefer  the  Mariposa  Grove,  as  the  Cala- 
veras has  lost  much  of  its  primitive  condition, 
— as  one  man  says,  "  has  been  converted  into 


somethlnof  like  a  tea-garden," — while  the  for- 
mer  remains  in  its  oriorinal  state.  The  Marl- 
posa  Grove  is  also  regarded  as  being  the  most 


84  To    California  and  Alaska. 

attractive,  because  here  the  trees  are  greater 
in  diameter,  and  much  more  numerous.  There 
are  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  of  them 
in  the  grove,  varying  in  size  from  twenty  to 
thirty-four  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  to  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  in  height.  Botanically  speak- 
ing, they  are  of  the  Sequoia  gigantea  species. 
There  seems  to  be  a  belt  of  them  running 
along  the  slopes  of  the  Sierras,  about  four  or 
five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  as 
far  south  as  Visalia.  They  are  so  plentiful 
near  that  place  that  they  are  sawed  up  and 
used  for  lumber.  In  the  same  neighborhood, 
the  Indians  report  a  tree,  far  in  the  forest, 
which  is  said  to  surpass  in  grandeur  any  tree 
of  the  kind  that  has  ever  been  seen.  So  far, 
no  white  man  has  ever  beheld  it.  The  leaf  of 
the  Sequoia,  gigantea  is  very  much  like  that  of 
the  Arbor  viUv ;  the  bark  is  soft  and  very 
spongy,  and  of  a  light-brown  color.  On  all 
the  largest  trees  it  measures  from  twenty  to 
thirty-two  inches  in  thickness.  This  species 
grows  on  mountain  slopes,  and  is  watered  by 
the  springs  that  come  down  the  hill-sides,  and 
which  are  filled  with  particles  of  fertilizing 
rocks  and  the  decayed  vegetation  of  centuries. 


as 


3 
I 

> 
O 
OS 
O 

< 

p 

2 
< 


The    Yoseinite    I  a//e)'. 


85 


For  six  months  in  the  year  it  is  warmed  by  a 
tropical  sun  and  refreshed  by  the  bahiiy  air  of 
the  Pacific.  In  winter,  its  roots  have  a  warm 
covering-  of  snow  ;  and  it  is  said,  of  some  of 
these  trees  at  least,  that  the  ground  never 
freezes  beneath  them.      In  fact,  they  have  got 


nothing  to  do  but  to  grow  ;  and  it  is  interest- 
ing to  note  that  this  species  is  not  wearing 
out,  for  youne  trees  can  be  seen  crrowino" 
vigorously.  We  say  young  trees,  meaning 
about  four  hundred  years  old,  because  the 
monsters  themselves  are   over   two    thousand 


86  To    California  and  Alaska. 

years  old.  One  of  the  largest  of  these  is  the 
Grizzly  Giant.  It  is  one  hundred  and  seven 
feet  in  circumference,  and  in  the  thickest  place 
thirty-four  feet  in  diameter.  The  first  branch 
is  nearly  two  hundred  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  is  eight  feet  in  diameter.  The  writer  took 
a  number  of  photographs  of  these  trees,  and 
several  views  in  the  immediate  neighborhood. 
From  these  the  illustrations  which  appear  in 
this  book  were  made.  Most  of  the  laree  trees 
have  special  names  attached  to  them.  Many 
are  named  after  the  States  ;  others  are  named 
after  celebrated  men,  such  as  Longfellow, 
Lincoln,  Grant,  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  George 
Washington,  Daniel  Webster,  W.  H.  Seward, 
and  Andrew  Johnson.  It  seems  a  little  in- 
congruous that  the  names  of  these  modern 
celebrities  should  be  attached  to  trees  whose 
chief  claim  to  recognition,  aside  from  their 
size,  is  their  great  age, — trees  that  existed  be- 
fore Titus  besieged  Jerusalem,  which  were  the 
contemporaries  of  an  Attila,  or  a  Constantine, 
and  which  bid  fair  to  live  when  the  names 
they  bear  shall  have  faded  into  oblivion.  In- 
congruous though  it  may  be,  however,  it  is 
gratifying  that  the  names  they  bear  are  those 
of  Americans.      The  pertinence  of  this  remark 


The    Yose7nite    Willey. 


87 


will  appear,  when  I  mention  that  the  first 
British  botanist  who  saw  the  trees,  had  the 
monumental  assurance  to  christen  them  JfV/- 
lingtonia,  although  years  before  they  had 
received  the  name  of  ]]^ashingtoiiia.  British 
botanists  still  call  the  trees  Wellingtonia,  and 
will  probably  continue  to  do  so  for  their  own 
satisfaction. 

Probably  a  quarter  of  the  trees  in  all  the 
groves  are  over  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  ; 
the  stump  of  one  of  them,  thirty-two  feet  in 
diameter,  has  a  house  built  over  it.      Five  men 


worked  twenty-five  days  with  pump-augers 
before  they  could  cut  it  down.  The  stump  is 
cut  five  feet  from  the  ground,  and   a  party  of 


88  To    California  and  Alaska. 

thirty-two  have  danced  on  it  at  once,  not 
counting  the  musicians  and  spectators,  who 
filled  up  part  of  the  space.  Twenty  feet  in 
length  of  this  log  would  make  forty-nine 
thousand  feet  of  boards,  which  would  be  worth 
several  thousand  dollars. 

One  of  these  trees  has  been  tunnelled,  and 
a  road  built  through  it,  so  that  coaches  can 
drive  inside.  When  standingr  underneath  it 
the  leaders'  heads  are  just  outside  the  arch  of 
the  tree  at  one  end,  while  the  end  of  the  coach 
is  just  outside  the  arch  at  the  other.  This, 
perhaps,  will  give  a  better  idea  of  the  enor- 
mous diameter  of  these  trees  than  any  arith- 
metical statements.  The  width  of  the  open- 
ing through  this  tree  is  sufficient  to  allow  two 
stages  to  pass  each  other  inside  the  tree.  The 
Faithful  Couple  is  about  twenty-eight  feet  in 
diameter,  reaches  seventy  feet  out  of  the 
ground,  and  forms  into  two  trees  on  one  stem  ; 
the  faithful  couple  of  trees  having,  in  reality, 
but  one  life,  a  kind  of  Siamese-twins  existence, 
and  being  but  one.  The  only  tree  which 
approaches  the  Sequoia  in  size  and  grandeur 
is  the  Eucalyptus  of  Australia,  which  is  from 
eighty  to  ninety  feet  in  circumference. 

After   we   had   gratified    our   curiosity  with 


The    Yosemite    J^alley 


89 


regard  to  the  Big  Trees,  we  returned  to  Wa- 
wona,  where  we  took  another  stage  and  a  fresh 
set  of  horses  and  started  at  once  for  the 
valley.  On  this  drive  we  had  three  changes 
of  horses,  and  the  scenery  was  simply  grand. 
The  ride  was  rather  a  rough  one,  but  the 
views  to  be  obtained  were  well  worth  the  cost 


of  the  journey.  We  alighted  from  our  coach 
at  the  world-renowned  Inspiration  Point, 
which  is  a  little  green  plateau,  about  twenty 
feet  square,  on  the  very  verge  of  the  south- 
west wall  of  the  valley.  The  view  from  this 
situation,  once  seen,  can  never  be  forgotten. 
It  embraces  what   mieht  be  called  the  whole 


90  To    California  and  Alaska. 

gamut  of  the  natural  and  magnificent  ;  you  see 
mountains,  rock,  perpendicular  ledge,  towering 
spires  thousands  of  feet  high,  snow-clad 
mountains,  bald  peaks  peering  into  the  blue 
vault  of  heaven,  barren  domes  of  gray  granite, 
water-falls,  cascades,  and  brooks,  green  fields, 
and  winding  streams, — the  whole  Yosemite  is 
here  seen  at  one  glance.  There  was  a  shelv- 
ing rock,  upon  which  we  were  instructed  to 
creep  cautiously  to  the  edge.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  the  first  glance  makes  some  weak  persons 
giddy,  especially  when  they  are  exhausted  by 
the  long  ride.  The  beauty  of  the  scene  is 
indescribable  in  words  ;  the  experience  might 
be  compared  to  a  person  looking  over  the 
edge  of  a  grand  cyclorama,  executed  on  a 
magnificent  scale,  containino-  all  manner  of 
natural  effects,  and  absolutely  perfect  in  artistic 
execution. 

The  party  were  particularly  impressed  with 
El  Capitan,  which  is,  indeed,  the  most  promi- 
nent attraction  to  the  eve  when  comlno-  down 
the  mountain-side  into  the  valley.  This 
mountain,  called,  in  English,  the  Great  Chief 
of  the  Valley,  although  not  so  high,  by  several 
thousand  feet,  as  some  of  its  giant  neighbors, 
is  remarkable  on   account   of   its   isolation,   its 


The    Yosemite    Valley.  91 

breadth,  its  perpendicular  sides,  its  bold,  de- 
fiant shape,  and  its  prominence  as  it  stands 
out  hl^e  a  great  rock  promontory.  It  is  three 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  in  heieht,  and 
the  beholder  stands  in  mute  astonishment  as 
he  views  its  massive  proportions. 

The  Yosemite  Valley  was  discovered  in  the 
spring  of  185  i,  by  a  party  under  the  command 
of  Major  James  Savage,  who,  at  the  time,  was 
pursuing  a  number  of  predatory  Indians,  who 
made  it  their  stronghold,  considering  it  in- 
accessible to  the  whites.  The  name  Yosemite 
was  given  to  it  in  the  belief  that  it  was  the 
Indian  term  for  grizzly  bear.  The  valley 
proper  can  hardly  be  called  a  valley  ;  it  is  in 
reality  a  rift  in  the  earth's  surface.  It  may  be 
described  as  a  chasm,  varying  in  width  from 
one  mile  to  ninety  feet,  with  granite  walls 
from  one  thousand  to  four  thousand  feet  hieh. 
Masses  of  detached  rock  stand,  in  their  soli- 
tude, like  giant  obelisks ;  others  have  been 
split  from  top  to  bottom  as  though  by  a 
thunder-bolt.  Through  the  windingrs  of  the 
valley  flows  a  river,  cold  as  ice  and  clear  as 
crystal,  its  source  apparently  being  from  the 
clouds  above.  There  is  luxuriant  vegetation, 
and    the    extreme    of   barrenness,  the   softest 


9  2  To   Califorjtia  and  Alaska. 

carpet-moss  and  grassy  lawns,  the  great  ferns 
and  wild  roses,  alternating  with  huge  scattered 
rocks,  where  not  even  the  lichen  will  cling. 
The  traveller  will  note  how  the  sunbeams 
brighten  the  summits  of  the  giant  mountains  ; 
how  the  sunshine  creeps  down  the  sides  of  the 
cold  walls,  fillino-  the  valley  with  floods  of 
golden  glory,  made  brighter  by  the  contrast 
of  patches  of  deep  shade,  for  there  are  some 
spots  here  which  the  sun  never  reaches — cold, 
and  damp,  and  always  dripping  ;  and  there  are 
gorges  with  arms  wide-open,  as  if  forever  to 
court  the  orb  of  day. 

Briefly  stated,  the  chief  features  of  the  val- 
ley are  its  perpendicular  walls,  their  great 
height  as  compared  with  the  width  of  the  val- 
ley, and  the  small  amount  of  debris  formed  at 
the  base  of  these  gfiorantic  mountains  of  rock. 
The  general  opinion  is  that  these  great  moun- 
tains of  rock  have  been  gradually  rent  in  twain 
from  dome  to  base  by  some  volcanic  action 
and  the  chasm  thus  made  widened  by  further 
volcanic  action  to  its  present  width.  The 
valley  is  one  vast  flower-garden  ;  plants, 
shrubs,  and  flowers  of  every  hue  cover  the 
ground  like  a  carpet  ;  the  eye  Is  dazzled  by  the 
brilliancy  of  the  color,  and  the   air   is   heavy 


The    Yoseniite    J^alley. 


93 


with    the    fragrance    of   a    million     blossoms. 
There  are  trees  of  five  and  six  hundred  years' 


Je 


growth,  of  immense  height,  and  yet  in  com- 
parison with  the  vast  perpendicular  clefts  of 
rock  they  look  like  daisies  beside  a  sycamore 


94  To   California  and  Alaska. 

of  the  forest.  One  interesting  writer  on  the 
subject  of  the  Yosemite  advances  the  theory 
that  it  is  possible  that  the  spot  may  have  been 
the  Eden  of  Scripture. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  we  all,  with  the 
exception  of  Dr.  McLane,  left  the  hotel  on 
horseback  for  the  trail  to  the  top  of  Glacier 
Point.  This  is  considered  one  ot  the  most 
dangerous  trails  in  the  valley.  At  two  or  three 
places  half-way  up  the  mountain  the  wall  on 
one  side  was  actually  perpendicular,  and  the 
path,  not  over  two  feet  wide,  was  held  up  by  a 
few  small  stones,  any  one  of  which  if  loosened 
would  roll  thousands  of  feet  below.  It  was  a 
matter  of  much  concern  to  us  that  one  of  the 
ladies  became  very  much  frightened  at  this 
stage  of  the  journey.  If  she  could  hold  on  to 
her  horse,  and  retain  her  senses,  we  knew  that 
all  would  be  well,  because  the  intelligent  ani- 
mal would  not  go  over  the  cliff.  It  was  utterly 
impossible  for  her  escort  to  be  of  any  assist- 
ance, as,  at  this  point,  there  w^as  scarcely  suf- 
ficient space  for  a  rider  to  stand  alongside  his 
horse.  Before  coming  to  the  dangerous  place 
on  the  homeward  journey,  the  lady  dismounted 
and  walked  with  her  companion  nearly  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.      California  mustangs  are 


The    Yoscmite    Valley.  95 

the  horses  used  in  this  kind  of  service.  They 
feed  on  oat-straw  or  mountain  pasture,  and  can 
withstand  very  hard  usage.  The  Spanish  sad- 
dle is  used,  with  high  peaks  before  and  behind  ; 
the  stirrups  are  covered  with  huge  leathers 
which  fall  five  or  six  inches  below  the  feet,  and 
the  legs  are  protected  by  broad  leathern  shields. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  we  made  our 
trip  to  Glacier  Point  some  of  the  party  made 
a  trip  to  Nevada  Falls.  Dr.  McLane  and  the 
writer,  procured  a  wagon  and  drove  to  the 
Yosemite  Falls,  and  other  points  of  interest 
In  the  valley.  The  Yosemite  Valley  is  situated 
on  the  Merced  River,  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  county  of  Mariposa,  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  a  little  southeast  from  San  Fran- 
cisco. At  times  this  river  flows  along  in  a 
grave,  respectable  sort  of  fashion,  then  leaps 
over  a  precipice  a  hundred  feet  high,  or  more, 
then  tumbles  and  foams  its  way  through  a  de- 
vious course  around  massive  rocks  as  large  as 
a  house.  Sometimes  it  hops,  skips,  and  jumps 
over  its  rocky  bed  apparently  in  playful  mood  ; 
sometimes  its  noise  is  almost  deafening,  some- 
times soft  and  low  and  musical  to  the  ear.  It 
flows  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada, midway  between  its  eastern  and  western 


g6  To    California  a?id  Alaska. 

base,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  State,  measuring 
north  and  south.  It  is  a  narrow  stream  en- 
closed in  frowning-  aranite  walls,  risinof  with 
almost  unbroken  and  perpendicular  faces  to 
the  dizzy  height  of  from  three  to  six  thousand 
feet  above  the  green  and  quiet  valley  beneath. 
During  the  rainy  season,  and  when  the  snows 
melt,  streams  are  formed  on  the  precipices, 
shaping  themselves  into  cataracts  of  beauty 
and  magnificence  surpassing  any  thing  known 
in  mountain  scenery.  Looking  up  the  valley, 
from  the  foot  of  the  Mariposa  trail,  El  Capi- 
tan  is  seen  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right,  the 
Cathedral  Rocks  and  a  beautiful  fall  called  the 
Bridal  Veil,  which  jumps,  in  sportive  glee,  a 
distance  of  nearly  one  thousand  feet  into  the 
valley.  Long  before  the  water  reaches  its 
rocky  bed  it  is  transformed  into  mist,  and  when 
the  wind  blows  gently  it  is  wafted  hither  and 
thither,  sometimes  forming  itself  into  a  thin 
veil,  sometimes  closing  as  if  to  hide  its  purity. 
The  Cathedral  Rocks  on  the  east  are  nearly 
three  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  look  like 
isolated  church  spires  of  solid  granite,  with 
rocky  sides  gently  sloping  from  the  base  to 
the  pinnacle,  with  no  signs  of  vegetation  on 
their   rugged   sides.      As   yet,  no   human  foot 


NEVADA   FALLS. 


The    Yosemite    Valley.  c^'] 

has  stood  on  that  barren  eminence.  The  Vir- 
gin's Tears  Creek,  directly  opposite  the  Bridal 
Veil,  is  in  a  deep  recess  of  the  rocks  near  the 
lower  corner  of  El  Capitan.  Farther  up  the 
valley  is  the  group  of  rocks  known  as  the 
Three  Brothers,  or  "  Mountains  Playing  Leap- 
frog." Looked  at  from  below,  the  peculiar 
shape  of  these  three  rocks  give  them  the  ap- 
pearance, very  much,  of  three  frogs  in  the  act 
of  going  through  the  performance  indicated. 
The  Yosemite  Falls — three  in  one — are  farther 
up  the  valley.  The  water  dashes  with  great 
force  over  the  rocks  and  plunges  into  a  vast 
basin  of  rock  beneath.  Gathering  strength,  it 
again  leaps  forth,  and  falling  between  the  North 
Dome  and  the  Three  Brothers,  takes  its  final 
plunge  of  six  hundred  feet  into  the  valley. 
The  roar  of  the  falls  is  heard  at  all  times,  but 
in  the  quiet  and  darkness  of  the  night  it  seems 
as  if  the  very  earth  were  being  rent  asunder. 
There  are  no  falls  in  the  world  that  equal  these 
in  size  and  maofnificence.  N  ia^ara  is  two  hun- 
dred  feet  high,  but  here  is  a  fall  more  than  ten 
times  as  high,  and  the  renowned  Staubbach  of 
Switzerland  is  not  to  be  compared  with  it.  At 
the  foot  of  one  of  the  mountains  is  Mirror 
Lake,  a  pure,  clear,  cold  body  of  water  which 


98  To   California  and  Alaska. 

reflects,  as  in  a  looking-glass,  the  towering  bat- 
tlements of  rock  above. 

To  reach  the  Vernal  and  Nevada  Falls  the 
traveller  rides  through  a  valley  carpeted  with 
bright-colored,  fragrant  flowers,  and  is  obliged 
to  cross  the  river  Merced.  At  the  base  of  the 
Sentinel  Dome  is  the  Vernal  Fall  or  Cataract 
of  Diamonds.  The  fallinof  cloud  of  white  foam 
leaps  over  its  rocky  bed  into  a  fearful  declivity, 
makinof  a  tumultuous  noise  to  which  the  roar 
of  Niagara  is  as  the  sifrh  of  the  south  wind. 
For  half  a  mile  below  the  falls  the  stream  looks 
like  one  mass  of  foam.  The  Nevada  Fall  is 
twice  the  height  of  the  Vernal,  and  is  the  grand- 
est of  all  the  falls  in  the  valley.  There  is  an 
obstruction  on  the  north  side  of  the  fall,  which 
causes  a  division  of  a  considerable  volume  of 
water,  and  makes  it  tumble  by  itself  in  mad 
cascades,  that  come  leaping  and  dancing  down 
the  rocks.  Visitors  find  no  difficulty  in  going 
up  to  the  very  foot  of  the  fall,  where  they  can 
gaze  at  its  magnificent  power,  and  listen  to  its 
stupendous  roar,  until  they  are  fairly  drenched 
with  the  spray. 

The  hotel  at  which  we  stopped  at  this  point 
in  our  journey,  although  well-built  and  com- 
fortable  in   some  respects,  is  as  badly  kept  as 


Yoseinitc    J  al/cy.  99 

any  place  of  the  kind  we  had  ever  seen.  This 
is  very  unfortunate,  because  if  it  were  properly 
managed  the  natural  surroundings  are  such 
that  visitors  would  be  tempted  to  remain 
several  days  in  the  locality,  instead  of  getting 
through  their  sight-seeing,  and  leaving  the 
place  as  quickly  as  possible.  When  travellers 
first  began  to  come  to  this  section,  the 
"  hotels,"  as  they  were  grandiloquently  called, 
were  nothing  more  than  inns,  where  the  ac- 
commodations were  of  the  rudest  possible 
description. 

We  left  the  valley  at  half-past  six  on  the 
morning  of  April  27th.  The  weather  was 
cold,  but  bright.  As  we  came  past  Inspiration 
Point  we  grave  one  last  look  at  the  orrand 
scenery  which  had  been  to  us  such  a  source  of 
pleasure  for  two  days.  We  drove  out  the 
entire  distance  of  sixty-four  miles,  and  arrived 
at  Raymond  about  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Through  the  courtesy  of  the  stage 
company  at  Wawona,  the  writer  of  the  party 
secured  a  buck-board  wagon,  and,  with  his 
wife,  drove  all  the  way  to  Raymond,  having 
one  chanofe  of  horses.  We  were  all  sflad  to 
get  back  to  our  car ;  by  this  time  it  seemed  to 
us,  in  a  certain   sense,  like   a  permanent  resi- 


lOO  To   California  and  Alaska. 

dence,  and  so  far  as  the  cuisine  was  concerned, 
in  looking  back  upon  our  hotel  experiences  in 
the  valley,  there  was  certainly  "  no  place  like 
home,"  for  the  table  at  the  hotels  did  not  be- 
gin to  compare  with  our  own. 

At  half-past  six  o'clock  the  train  left  for 
Berenda.  It  was  composed  of  a  dozen  freight 
cars,  two  Pullman  sleepers,  our  car,  and  a 
coach.  Half-way  to  Berenda,  at  one  of  the 
local  stations,  through  the  mistake  of  one  of 
the  switch-tenders,  a  switch  was  left  open. 
Fortunately,  the  engineer  was  not  running 
over  twenty  miles  an  hour  at  the  time,  and 
was  able  to  prevent  a  serious  accident  by  the 
immediate  use  of  the  air-brakes.  We  were  all 
at  dinner  when  the  accident  happened,  and 
when  the  train  brought  up  with  a  tremendous 
jerk,  it  almost  upset  everything  on  the  table. 
On  ofoinof  out  it  was  discovered  that  the  ena-ine 
had  run  on  a  siding  directly  into  a  lot  of 
freight  cars,  sendinor  some  of  them  on  to  the 
main  track  ahead,  knocking  others  off  their 
trucks,  and  altogether  making  a  pretty  bad 
wreck.  It  took  us  over  half  an  hour  to  clear 
the  main  line  of  debris,  before  our  journey 
could  be  resumed. 

While  driving  out  from  the  valley,  we  had 


3      )  > 

^^>     T     ■>      3     1 


=  H . 

,         3         5       J 


1        3 
)  ' 

3,3 


3'3 


Yoseuiite  I  alley. 


3  •"3'3 ;''  ^ 

-      '  '         -?     3       ' 

'3'       3 

lOI 


very  cool  and  comfortable  weather.  On  our 
arrival  at  Raymond  we  were  surprised  to 
learn  that  the  people  in  that  vicinity  had  been 
suffering  from  the  heat.  The  evidence  of  the 
torrid  state  of  the  atmosphere  was  also  to  be 
seen  on  our  car,  the  paint  upon  which  had 
peeled  off  in  many  places,  while  the  inside  sash 
on  the  sunny  side  had  been  blistered  by  the 
heat,  taking  the  varnish  completely  off. 


'-^^ 


While  going  into,  and  coming  out  of  the 
valley,  we  saw  large  quantities  of  quail,  and 
our  driver  informed  us  that  during  the  season 
the  hunting  is  very  good.      We  also  passed  a 


'  c  r 


1 02  77?    California  and  Alaska. 

flume,  of  which  an  illustration  is  given  here- 
with. This  flume  is  built  of  plank  and  carries 
logs  and  boards  to  a  distance  of  seventy  miles. 
It  is  about  two  feet  high,  two  feet  wide,  and 
eight  inches  deep,  with  flaring  sides,  and  the 
water  runs  through  it  at  quite  a  rapid  rate. 
When  it  crosses  ravines  or  winds  around  the 
mountain-side,  it  is  supported  on  trestle-work 
The  lumber  is  sawed  some  distance  up  in  the 
mountains,  bound  together  in  bundles  of  seven 
or  eight  planks,  then  let  into  the  flume,  and 
floated  down  stream  to  the  railroad  station. 
The  part  of  the  flume  shown  in  the  picture 
carries  lumber  down  to  Madera,  a  station  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  miles  from  San  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 


Early  on  the  morning  of  April  28th  we 
left  Berenda  on  the  express,  and  arrived  at 
Oakland  about  nine  o'clock.  We  found  an 
engine  waiting  for  us,  which  immediately  took 
our  car  and  ran  us  special  to  Monterey,  where 
we  arrived  about  three  in  the  afternoon.  The 
children  were  all  well,  and  overjoyed  to  see  us, 
and  listened  with  unfeigned  pleasure  to  the 
stories  we  had  to  tell  them  of  the  wonders  we 
had  seen.  Our  return  was  made  pleasanter 
from  the  fact  that  we  found  three  mail-bags 
awaiting  us,  and  it  took  us  several  hours  to 
reply  to  the  generous  batch  of  correspondence 
we  found  on  our  hands. 

On  the  following  morning,  Monday,  we  re- 
sumed our  old  habit  and  started  immediately 
for  the  swimminor-bath.  In  the  afternoon, 
the  writer  eneaeed  a  buofSfV,  and  drove  out  to 

103 


I04  To    California  and  Alaska. 

a  ranch  twenty-eight  miles  from  Monterey. 
CaHfornia  ranches  often  consist  of  thousands 
of  acres,  and  are  conducted  on  a  very  large 
scale.  The  word  "  ranch  "  has  come  down 
from  the  early  Spanish  occupancy,  and  is 
found,  in  some  form  or  other,  all  over  the 
State  ;  farm-hands  are  called  "  ranchmen,"  and 
a  man  is  "  ranching  "  horses  when  he  takes 
them  to  pasture.  We  will  take  one  ranch  of 
sixteen  thousand  acres  as  a  specimen.  It  ex- 
tends about  four  miles  along  a  river,  and  there 
is  not  a  field  through  which  there  does  not  run 
a  living-  stream  :  these  streams  come  down 
from  the  mountains.  A  flouring  mill  of  great 
capacity  is  on  one  part  of  the  ranch,  and  its 
wheels  are  kept  running  by  the  water  from 
one  of  these  streams.  Between  three  and  four 
thousand  acres  are  sown  with  wheat  and  bar- 
ley, and,  by  aid  of  machinery,  twelve  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat  can  be  made  ready  for  the 
mill  in  one  day.  The  whole  process  of  thresh- 
ing, cleaning,  etc.,  is  gone  through  with  in  the 
field,  and  the  grain  at  once  put  into  sacks. 
Fifty  horses  or  mules  and  about  twenty  men 
are  employed  from  November  until  March,  in 
making  the  ground  ready,  using  the  latest  and 
most  approved  agricultural   machinery.      The 


Sail   F^^ancisco.  105 

laborers  live  on  the  place  in  a  house  at  a  little 
distance  from  that  of  their  employer.  Wild 
oats  grow  of  their  own  accord,  and  six  hundred 
head  of  cattle  live  on  parts  of  the  ranch  not 
under  cultivation.  Then  there  are  twelve 
hundred  hogs,  and  fourteen  thousand  sheep, 
the  latter  having  a  shepherd  for  each  two 
thousand  of  their  number. 

We  bade  adieu  to  Monterey  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  1st  of  May,  taking  our  special  train. 
At  Menlo  Park  we  were  met  by  the  bo)'s — 
Louis,  Frank,  and  George  Bird — who  had 
remained  at  San  Francisco  in  order  to  see  the 
town,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Pinkerton 
detective,  who,  being  an  old  Californian,  was 
specially  qualified  to  act  as  a  guide.  Louis 
brought  some  beautiful  roses  that  he  had  pro- 
cured for  us  in  San  Francisco,  and  a  number 
of  flowers  of  the  same  species  were  also 
handed  us  by  a  resident  of  Menlo  Park,  after 
our  arrival. 

After  lunch  we  took  carriages  and  rode  out 
to  Governor  Stanford's  stock  farm.  Through 
some  misunderstanding,  every  one  connected 
with  the  place,  including  Mr.  Marvin,  the 
manager,  was  absent.  But  after  a  little  trou- 
ble we  succeeded  in  getting  a  groom  to  show 


io6  To    California  and  Alaska. 

us  some  of  the  horses.  We  saw  "  Electioneer," 
and  some  of  the  stallions,  together  with  the 
celebrated  yearling,  "  Electric  Bells,"  owned 
by  Miller  and  Sibley,  and  for  which  they  paid 
in  December,  1888,  thirteen  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  He  is  a  beauty,  and  very 
well-developed,  and  the  groom  assured  us  that 
his  racing  future  was  full  of  promise. 

After  visiting  the  stables,  we  drove  over  to 
the  University  buildings  which  Governor 
Stanford  is  erecting  to  the  memory  of  his  son. 
The  main  building  is  after  the  Spanish  style 
of  architecture,  only  one  story  high,  and  with 
tiled  roof.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  square,  with 
a  continuous  arcade  or  colonnade  running 
around  it  inside.  The  interior  square  is  con- 
nected with  the  outside  by  four  large  arches 
under  each  side  of  the  building.  These  struc- 
tures occupy  about  four  acres  of  ground,  and 
when  we  were  there  a  large  body  of  men  were 
at  work  on  the  premises,  while  others  were 
engaged  in  grading  and  preparing  the  sur- 
roimding  grounds. 

Menlo  Park  is  beautifully  situated  at  the 
foot  of  a  mountain,  the  last  of  the  sea-coast 
range.  It  is  thickly  wooded,  and  looked  more 
like  a  park  than  any  place  of  the  kind  we  had 


Sail  Francisco.  107 

ever  seen.  The  roads  are  kept  in  superb  con- 
dition, and  the  profusion  of  flowers  we  beheld 
was  somethino- wonderful.  We  drove  through 
Governor  Stanford's  property,  and  saw  his 
house  and  grounds  ;  also  the  large  vineyard 
connected  with  it.  Near  his  place,  on  the  site 
where  he  intended  to  build  a  house.  Governor 
Stanford  has  erected  a  mausoleum  to  the 
memory  of  his  son.  After  our  drive  we  re- 
turned to  the  car  and  left  at  once  for  San 
Francisco.  Subsequently  we  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  the  Governor ;  also  Mr.  C.  P. 
Huntington,  who  was  about  starting  for  New 
York.  The  Governor  talked  freely  about 
horse-raising,  and  one  could  see  that  he  was 
thoroughly  enthusiastic  on  the  subject. 

You  cannot  walk  about  the  City  of  the 
Golden  Gate  without  thinkine  of  its  wonder- 
ful  growth  and  recalling  its  early  history. 
Only  forty  years  ago  men  were  living  on  this 
very  spot,  for  the  most  part  in  tents  and 
shanties.  Some  adventurers  formed  part  of 
the  population,  but  they  were  soon  exter- 
minated. Although  there  was  an  utter  ab- 
sence  of  the  refinino-  influence  of  women,  eood 
women  were  held  in  profound  respect.  Life 
and   property  were   secure   though   locks  and 


io8  To    Califoi^nia  and  Alaska. 

bars  were  unknown,  and  men  trusted  their 
money  to  people  who  a  few  hours  before  had 
been  stranofers  to  them.  There  was  not  a 
school,  or  a  Protestant  church,  but  men  read 
their  Bibles  in  their  homes.  The  discovery 
of  eold  chanfred  this  condition  of  affairs,  and 
brought  to  the  locality  the  scum  of  the  whole 
world — -convicts  from  Australia  ;  the  vaga- 
bonds of  large  European  cities  ;  the  toughs 
from  New  York,  and  "  plug-uglies "  from 
Philadelphia  ;  desperadoes  from  Central  and 
South  America  ;  outcasts  from  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  and  pariahs  from  all  over  the  world. 
All  kinds  of  crimes  were  common,  and  no 
man's  life  or  property  was  safe.  Then  came 
the  "  Vigilance  Committee,"  and  the  reiorn  of 
swift  justice,  and  finally  San  PVancisco  became 
one  of  the  most  quiet,  law-abiding,  well- 
o:overned  cities  in  the  world.  San  Francisco 
is  fameci  for  its  restaurants.  It  is  said  they 
number  about  four  hundred,  and  that  forty 
thousand  people  daily  take  their  meals  at 
them.  They  are  of  all  grades  and  prices — 
from  the  "  Poodle  Dog,"  where  a  dinner  costs 
from  two  and  a  half  to  twenty  dollars,  down 
to  the  Miner's  Restaurant,  where  it  costs  only 
forty  cents.      There  are  also  a  large   number 


Sa7i  Francisco.  109 

of  French,  German,  and  Italian  restaurants 
where  one  may  get  a  good  breakfast  for  half 
a  dollar,  a  lunch  for  twenty-five  cents,  and  a 
dinner,  a  la  carte,  including  claret,  for  seventy- 
five  cents.  A  tenderloin  steak  (and  the  beef 
is  said  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality),  potatoes, 
bread  and  butter,  and  a  cup  of  coffee,  will  cost 
fifty  cents  ;  a  lamb  chop,  potatoes,  bread  and 
butter,  and  coffee,  twenty-five  cents  ;  salmon, 
bread  and  butter,  an<l  coffee,  twenty-five  cents  ; 
an  omelet,  or  eggs  boiled,  fried,  or  scrambled, 
with  coffee,  and  bread  and  butter,  thirty-five 
cents.  A  grade  lower  down,  but  in  places 
which  seem  to  be  clean  and  respectable,  one 
gets  three  dishes  for  twenty-five  cents,  and 
may  obtain  quite  a  decent  meal  for  from 
twenty  to  thirty  cents.  The  European  habit 
of  livincr  in  lodorines  and  takine  meals  at  res- 
taurants  is  very  much  in  vogue  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. Among  the  hotels  is  one  which  may 
be  called  a  California  peculiarity.  It  is  what 
would  be  called  a  second-  or  third-class  hotel, 
but  serves  excellent  meals  and  lodgings  at  fifty 
cents  each  ;  this  place  grew  popular  under  the 
patronage  of  the  miners,  who,  when  they  come 
into  town  from  their  distant  camps  and  cabins. 
Insist  on   having  good  fare  though    they  are 


I  lo  To    California  and  Alaska. 

rather  indifferent  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
furnished.  This  hotel  has  a  special  office  for 
receiving  clothes  to  be  washed  and  mended,  a 
well-chosen  popular  library  wnth  five  thousand 
volumes,  full  files  of  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines, an  extensive  and  valuable  cabinet  of 
minerals,  and  a  beautiful  collection  of  stuffed 
birds,  all  for  the  accommodation  and  enter- 
tainment of  its  guests.  Its  reading-room  is 
generally  well-filled  with  plain,  rough-looking 
men,  each  with  book  or  newspaper  in  hand. 
The  rule  of  the  establishment  is  for  every 
guest  to  buy  a  supply  of  tickets  for  meals  and 
lodeino's  on  his  arrival,  at  the  uniform  rate  of 
fifty  cents  each,  and  the  proprietor  redeems, 
with  cash,  what  have  not  been  used  up  when 
the  customer  leaves. 

One  feature  of  San  Francisco  life  is  its  bar- 
rooms ;  many  of  which  are  fitted  up  in  a  style 
of  almost  Oriental  grandeur.  They  are  fur- 
nished with  immense  mirrors,  reaching  from 
floor  to  ceiling  ;  carpets  of  the  finest  texture 
and  the  most  exquisite  patterns  ;  luxurious 
lounges,  sofas,  and  arm-chairs  ;  massive  tables 
covered  with  papers  and  periodicals,  while  the 
walls  are  adorned  with  beautiful  and  expensive 
paintings.      Some  years  ago  a   picture  which 


Safi  Fi^aiicisco.  \  i  i 

had  hunor  on  the  walls  in  one  of  these  drink- 
ing-places  was  sold  for  twelve  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  Some  of  the  keepers  of 
these  places  are  said  to  be  men  of  consider- 
able education  and  culture.  One  of  them, 
some  years  ago,  was  an  art  critic  for  a  leading 
local  newspaper,  and  wrote  a  readable  book  of 
San  Francisco  reminiscences.  There  are  two 
classes  of  these  saloons  which  furnish  a  mid- 
day repast  far  too  pretentious  to  be  called  a 
"  free  lunch.  "  In  the  first  a  man  eets  a  drink 
and  a  meal  ;  in  the  second,  a  drink  and  a  meal 
of  inferior  quality.  He  pays  for  the  drink 
(twenty-five  or  fifteen  cents,  according  to  the 
grade  of  the  place)  and  gets  his  meal  for  noth- 
ing. This  consists,  in  the  better  class  of  es- 
tablishments, of  soup,  boiled  salmon,  roast 
beef  of  excellent  quality,  bread  and  butter, 
potatoes,  tomatoes,  crackers  and  cheese.  On 
the  subject  of  eating,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
San  Francisco  markets  supply  almost  every 
conceivable  want  of  hungry  humanity.  The 
products  of  every  clime  are  brought  to  the 
city.  You  can  enjoy  such  luxuries  as  green 
peas,  fresh  tomatoes,  celery,  and  cauliflower 
every  day  in  the  year,  and  even  strawberries 
may  be  a  perennial  delight.      Here,  for  months 


112  To    Califoi'nia  and  Alaska. 

in  succession,  are  grapes  of  many  varieties,  at 
from  two  to  fifteen  cents  a  pound  ;  here  are 
apples  from  Northern  California  and  Oregon, 
pears,  figs,  peaches,  apricots,  nectarines,  plums, 
and  blackberries  from  the  neighboring  valleys, 
and  oranges,  lemons,  limes,  and  bananas  from 
the  southern  counties,  all  in  fullest  perfection 
of  form  and  ripeness,  and  at  moderate  prices 
by  the  pound — for  fruits  and  vegetables  are 
uniformly  sold  by  weight.  Salmon  is  plenti- 
ful throughout  the  year  at  ten  to  twenty  cents 
a  pound,  with  smelts,  soles,  herrings,  cod, 
bass,  shrimps — in  fact,  every  treasure  of  the 
sea,  while  the  variety  of  game  is  unequalled. 

The  Eastern  visitor  is  struck  with  the  good 
management  of  the  Wells  &  Fargo  Express 
Company,  which  has  been  a  great  convenience 
in  the  far  western  part  of  the  country.  It  ex- 
tends to  every  village,  almost  to  every  mining 
camp,  in  the  Pacific  States  and  Territories.  It 
is  said  that  the  first  three  establishments  set 
up  in  a  ne^v  mining  town  are  a  restaurant,  a 
billiard-saloon  and  a  Wells  &  Fargo  of^ce  ; 
these  three  enterprises  represent  the  first  stage 
of  civilization.  In  the  early  days  the  company 
carried  more  letters  on  the  Pacific  coast  than 
the   crovernment  did,   for,  though  it   first  paid 


Sa7i   Francisco.  1 1 3 

the  government  postage  on  every  one,  and 
then  added  its  own  charges,  the  certainty  and 
promptness  of  its  carriage  and  deHvery  being 
ahead  of  the  post-office  department,  made  the 
agency  very  much  in  favor  with  the  piibHc.  It 
lias  carried  as  many  as  three  milhons  of  letters 
in  the  course  of  a  year.  It  does  errands  of 
every  sort,  and  to  every  place  ;  it  exchanges 
gold  and  greenbacks  ;  it  buys  and  sells  gold 
and  silver  in  the  rough  ;  it  owns  all  the  princi- 
pal stage  lines  of  the  interior ;  and  it  brings  to 
market  all  the  productions  of  the  gold  and 
silver  mines. 

On  the  morning  of  May  3d,  by  invitation  of 
General  Miles,  commanding  the  Department 
of  the  Pacific,  who  had  called  upon  us  on  the 
preceding  afternoon,  and  kindly  extended  to 
us  the  use  of  the  o-overnment  steamer  for  a 
sail  in  the  harbor,  we  went  to  the  Mission 
Street  wharf  and  boarded  the  vessel  McDoiv- 
ell.  We  sailed  out  throufrh  the  Golden  Gate, 
visited  the  fortress  and  the  Union  Iron  Works, 
where  they  were  building  the  San  Fra7icisco  ; 
we  saw  the  Charleston,  which  had  just  been 
completed,  and  was  lying  in  a  dock  near  by. 
About  twenty-three  miles  from  the  Golden 
Gate  are  the  Farallon   Islands.      They  are  six 


114  -^    California  and  Alaska. 

rugged  islets,  and  the  meaning  of  the  word 
Farallon,  which  is  Spanish,  is  a  small  pointed 
islet  in  the  sea.  These  islands  are  seldom 
visited  by  travellers  or  pleasure-seekers.  On 
one  of  them  is  a  government  light-house,  a 
brick  tower  seventeen  feet  high,  surmounted 
by  a  lantern  and  illuminating  apparatus. 
There  is  also  a  fog-whistle,  which  is  a  huge 
trumpet,  six  inches  in  diameter  at  its  smaller 
end,  and  which  is  blown  by  the  rush  of  air 
through  a  cave  or  passage  connecting  with 
the  ocean.  One  of  the  numerous  caves  worn 
into  the  rocks  by  the  surf  had  a  hole  at  the 
top,  through  which  the  incoming  breakers 
violently  expelled  the  air  they  carried  before 
them.  This  cave  has  been  utilized.  The 
mouth-piece  of  the  trumpet  or  fog-whistle  is 
fixed  against  the  aperture  in  the  rock,  and  the 
breaker,  as  it  dashes  in,  blows  the  fog-whistle, 
which  can  be  heard  at  a  distance  of  seven  or 
eiofbt  miles. 

The  light-house  keepers  and  their  families 
on  the  only  inhabited  island  pass  a  very  lonely 
life.  Their  house,  which  is  built  under  the 
shelter  of  the  rocks,  seems  to  be  open  to  per- 
petual storm  ;  the  sound  of  the  ocean's  roar  is 
never  absent  day  or  night ;  wild  birds  scream, 


San  Francisco.  1 1  5 

sea-lions  howl,  and  every  now  and  then  there 
are  dreadful  storms  to  make  the  din  more 
hideous.  During  the  winter  season  the  sup- 
ply vessel  is  unable,  sometimes,  to  make  a 
landing  for  weeks  at  a  time.  The  islands  are 
inhabited  by  multitudes  of  sea-lions,  and  vast 
numbers  of  birds  and  rabbits.  The  latter  ani- 
mals are  descendants  from  a  few  pairs  brought 
to  the  islands,  many  years  ago,  by  a  specula- 
tor who  intended  to  make  a  rabbit  warren  for 
the  supply  of  the  San  Francisco  market.  The 
animals  increase  very  rapidly,  so  much  so  that 
sometimes  hundreds  of  them  perish  of  starva- 
tion and  general  weakness.  The  sea-lions  con- 
gregate by  thousands  upon  the  cliffs,  many  of 
them  bigger  than  an  ox.  They  lie  in  the  sun 
upon  the  bare  and  warm  rocks,  or,  climbing  to 
high  summits,  fall  asleep  and  finally  plunge 
into  the  ocean  below.  They  are  sometimes 
caught  by  the  use  of  the  lasso,  which  has  to  be 
held  by  half  a  dozen  men,  or  quickly  fastened 
to  a  projecting  rock,  or  the  seal  would  surely 
get  away. 

The  wild  birds  which  breed  on  these  deso- 
late islands  are  gulls,  murres,  shags,  and  sea- 
parrots,  the  last  a  kind  of  penguin.  For  many 
years    a    company    has    gathered    from    these 


Ii6  To    California  and  Alaska. 

islands  the  eggs  of  the  murre,  the  season  last- 
ing from  the  middle  of  May  until  the  last  of 
July.  About  twenty  men  are  employed  in 
this  work,  living  on  the  island  during  the  time 
in  rude  shanties  near  the  usual  landing-place. 
The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  most  inaccessible 
places,  and  the  eggers  are  obliged  to  climb  to 
points  which  a  goat  would  hesitate  about  ap- 
proaching. The  egger  cannot  carry  a  basket, 
but  puts  the  eggs  into  his  shirt-bosom,  and 
when  he  has  collected  a  sufficient  number  he 
takes  them  down  the  cliff  to  some  place  to  de- 
posit, where  they  can  be  put  in  baskets,  and 
subsequently  taken  to  the  regular  receiving- 
house  near  the  shore.  These  eggs  are  largely 
used  in  San  Francisco  by  the  restaurants  and 
by  bakers  for  omelets,  cakes,  and  custards. 
In  the  early  days  of  California,  when  pro- 
visions were  high-priced,  the  ^<g'g  gatherers 
were  very  lucky.  Once,  in  1853,  a  boat  ab- 
sent but  three  days  brought  in  one  thousand 
dozen,  and  sold  the  whole  cargo  at  a  dollar 
a  dozen  ;  and  in  one  season  thirty  thousand 
dozen  were  gathered,  and  brought  an  average 
of  but  little  less  than  this  price. 

On    our  return  we   reached  San    Francisco 
about   half-past  twelve,   going   to    the    Palace 


Sail  Francisco.  i  i  7 

Hotel  for  lunch  ;  then  went  to  Oakland  with 
Mrs.  Webb,  where  the  train  had  been  taken 
on  a  transport.  We  remained  there  until 
evening,  taking  on  a  large  supply  of  groceries, 
the  first  since  we  had  left  New  York.  Our 
cars  were  put  on  the  end  of  a  regular  train, 
this  being  the  first  time  that  we  did  not  run 
special.  The  transport  Solano,  that  took  us 
across  to  Sacramento,  is  capable  of  holding 
fifty-two  freight  cars  and  four  engines.  It  is 
four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  sixty-four  feet 
wide,  and  has  four  tracks.  This  is  probably 
the  widest  vessel  afloat  ;  her  extreme  width 
over  guards  is  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet, 
and  she  has  four  paddle-wheels,  each  thirty 
feet  in  diameter. 

Mr.  Towne  came  over  to  see  us  off,  and  we 
found  it  difficult  to  express  our  thanks  and 
gratitude  for  the  kind  and  considerate  manner 
in  which  he  and  his  people  had  treated  us 
since  we  had  been  on  their  line.  It  would  be 
a  most  difficult  task  for  us  to  find  a  way  to  re- 
pay this  gentleman  for  the  courteous,  thought- 
ful, and  generous  treatment  we  had  received 
at  his  hands. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


SAN  FRANCISCO:  THE  CHINESE  QUARTER. 

The  evening  of  Wednesday  the  first  of  May 
was  spent  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  party  in  a 
visit  to  the  famous  Chinese  quarter  of  San 
Francisco.  We  were  accompanied  by  our  de- 
tective, and  on  this  occasion  saw  more  dirt, 
filth,  and  degradation  than  we  imagined  could 
exist  in  any  city  in  the  United  States. 

The  Chinese  quarter  of  San  Francisco  lies 
principally  in  Dupont  and  Jackson  streets, 
and  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  fashionable 
thoroughfare  around  Kearney  Street,  which 
was  briofht  and  crowded  on  the  nigrht  we  made 
our  excursion,  its  gay  shops  all  ablaze  with 
lights.  Individually  the  Chinaman  may  be 
clean ;  collectively  he  is  just  the  opposite. 
The  Chinese  cook  keeps  his  coppers  and  pans 
clean  and  bright,  washes  his  hands  frequently 
while    pursuing    his   vocation,   but    go   to   his 

ii8 


San  Francisco  :   The  Chhiese  Quarter.      1 1 9 

home  and  you  will  find  him  living  in  a  state 
of  squalor  and  dirt  which  is  truly  shocking. 
Fifteen  or  twenty  Chinamen  will  live,  sleep, 
and  cook  in  a  hovel  or  cellar  twelve  feet 
square,  having  only  a  door  for  the  purpose  of 
admitting  light  and  air.  When  the  occupants 
are  not  cooking  they  are  lying  in  their  rude 
bunks  on  the  side  of  the  apartment,  either 
sleeping  or  smoking  opium.  The  boarding- 
houses  established  by  the  Chinese  Companies 
soon  become  grimy  and  dirt-encrusted  from 
cellar  to  roof.  The  Chinamen  will  live  under 
the  sidewalks,  under  staircases,  in  cramped 
bunks,  and  on  rickety  platforms,  and  when  a 
building  has  once  been  occupied  by  Chinese, 
it  must  always  remain  a  pest-hole  or  be  torn 
down. 

The  Chinese  seem  to  have  a  particular  affin- 
ity for  subterranean  dwellings.  You  go  down 
a  ladder-like  staircase  into  a  cellar,  where  you 
might  expect  to  find  coal  or  barrels  stowed 
away,  and,  lo  and  behold,  you  are  standing  in 
a  barber-shop.  You  pass  farther  along  and 
find  yourself  in  an  underground  pawnbroker's, 
the  apartment  very  close  and  stuffy,  and  dimly 
lit  by  a  feeble  flaring  lamp.  The  shop  is 
crammed  with  every  possible  object  on  which 


I  20  To   California  aiid  Alaska. 

a  dollar  can  be  raised.  In  one  corner  there  is 
a  heap  of  old  clothes  ;  there  are  clocks,  and 
an  assortment  of  pistols  and  knives  of  all 
sorts,  from  the  pocket  penknife  to  a  pair  of 
murderous-looking  blades  which  seem  espe- 
cially adapted  for  literally  slicing  a  man  to 
pieces. 

Beyond  the  pawnbroker's  shop  you  will  find 
an  apartment  dark,  unventilated,  and  very 
much  like  the  steerage  cabin  of  an  emigrant 
steamer.  There  are  wooden  shelves,  or  bunks, 
on  the  sides  of  the  wall,  screened  by  ragged 
curtains.  In  each  bunk  there  is  a  Chinaman, 
who  is  smoking  his  pipe  of  opium.  He  will 
take  a  pinch  of  the  dark,  jelly-like  substance 
on  a  wire,  melt  it  over  a  little  lamp  with  which 
he  is  provided,  then  smear  it  over  the  aperture 
in  the  pipe,  and  draw  it  with  great,  deep 
breaths  into  his  lungs.  Many  Chinamen  lit- 
erally live  in  these  dens.  They  pay  so  much 
rent  for  their  bunk,  in  which  they  keep  their  few 
worldly  possessions,  and  do  their  simple  cook- 
ing in  a  little  court  outside  of  the  building. 
Others  work  part  of  the  day,  and  stay  at  the 
opium  den  at  night.  The  opium  pipe  consists 
of  a  straight  or  slightly  curved  stem  about 
eighteen  inches  long,  with  a  bowl  three  inches 


San  Francisco  :  The  Chinese  Quarter,      i  2 1 

round,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  small  circu- 
lar hole.  This  leads  to  a  smaller  reservoir  in 
the  centre  of  the  bowl,  and  a  channel  runs 
from  this  to  the  end  of  the  pipe,  which  the 
smoker  places  in  his  mouth. 

The  great  aim  of  Mongolian  existence, 
judging  from  what  we  saw,  seems  to  be  to 
get  the  largest  number  of  human  beings  into 
the  least  possible  space.  The  Chinese  seem 
to  herd  together,  to  qo  in  droves,  and  it  would 
seem  almost  impossible  that  there  should  be  a 
Chinese  hermit.  In  this  quarter  of  the  town 
there  are  long,  narrow,  black  alleys,  so  black 
that  one  has  to  grope  his  way,  so  narrow  that 
the  party  must  walk  in  single  file,  and  so  long 
that  when  you  get  to  the  end  of  them  it  seems 
as  if  you  were  miles  away  from  the  Golden 
City.  You  go  through  room  after  room,  bur- 
row your  way  along  narrow  passages,  under 
low  rafters,  and  over  slippery  and  shaky 
floors.  You  see  nothing  but  dirt  and  rags 
and  squalor,  and  the  sickly  odor  of  opium 
permeates  every  apartment. 

There  are  about  ten  heathen  temples,  or 
Joss-houses,  in  San  Francisco,  and  some  of 
them  are  fitted  up  with  considerable  splendor. 
The    most    noted  was    fitted  up  by  a  distin- 


122  To    California  and  Alaska. 

guished  Chinese  physician,  a  resident  of  the 
city.  The  temples  are  usually  in  alleys,  the  best 
one  being  in  the  third  story  of  a  brick  building, 
and  in  each  apartment  there  are  a  dozen  or 
more  gods  and  goddesses,  representing  per- 
sons who  have  once  lived  and  performed 
some  good  deed  for  which  they  have  been 
deified.  There  is  a  gong  placed  near  the 
deities  ;  also  an  oven.  In  the  oven  gifts  and 
written  representations  of  prayer,  which  are 
bought  of  the  priest  near  by,  are  thrown,  and 
as  they  burn  the  gong  sounds  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  spirits  who  are  to  receive  them 
to  the  offerings  made.  The  deities  represent 
different  qualities.  Joss  being  the  supreme 
deity.  There  is  a  god  of  War,  and  there  is 
a  goddess  of  Mercy.  The  latter  image  was 
brought  from  China  by  the  physician  above 
referred  to,  and  cost  eight  thousand  dollars. 
The  story  about  her  is  this  :  She  was  a  fine 
young  woman,  and  in  order  to  escape  a  disa- 
greeable marriage  went  to  the  house  of  a 
relio-ious  sisterhood.  Her  father  burned  the 
buildings,  but  her  prayers  saved  the  occupants. 
Her  mission  in  the  other  world  is  to  look  after 
the  souls  of  those  who  have  no  friends  here, 
or  who  have  friends  that  are  unmindful  and 


San  Francisco  :  The  Chinese  Quarter.      123 

negligent.  One  image  represents  a  wretched 
lookino;  beino-  who  has  lost  his  soul  throuoh 
the  commission  of  some  s^reat  crime  in  this 
life.  He  is  constantly  in  pursuit  of  his  lost 
soul,  sometimes  in  the  act  of  grasping  it,  when 
it  eludes  him,  and  he  is  constantly  obliged  to 
keep  up  his  restless  search.  The  Chinese 
have  no  regular  hours  of  worship,  but  come 
and  go  in  the  temples  at  all  times  ;  they  bow 
before  the  images  in  a  perfunctory  manner, 
and  their  worship  seems  to  be  as  apathetic  as 
their  general  demeanor.  Most  of  these  Joss- 
houses  are  dingy  and  carpetless,  with  tables 
covered  with  handsome  vases,  candlesticks, 
and  other  offerings  ;  panels  of  rare  and  curi- 
ous carving  in  bas-relief,  protected  by  a  gra- 
ting ;  tinsel,  trays  of  Joss-sticks,  incense,  and 
the  gong,  which  gives  forth  a  deep,  sepulchral 
toll. 

The  Chinese  are  inevitable  gamblers,  and 
the  entrances  to  their  gambling  dens  are 
guarded  by  two  or  three  quiet-faced  old 
Chinamen,  who  sit  on  little  stools  a  few  feet 
back  from  the  sidewalk.  These  places  are 
easily  entered  by  the  patrons  of  the  estab- 
lishment, but  should  an  unknown  visitor,  or 
officer,  come  to  them,  and  give  rise  to  the  sus- 


124  ^   California  and  Alaska. 

picion  that  a  raid  was  going  to  be  made  upon 
the  place,  the  old  man  at  the  door  would  pull 
a  bell,  and  such  a  proceeding  would  be  made 
impossible  ;  for  the  moment  the  bell  is  pulled  a 
big  door,  six  inches  thick,  with  heavy  crossbars 
of  wood  and  iron,  is  closed  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  hall.  If  this  door  should  be  passed, 
the  intruders  would  find  themselves  in  a  maze, 
with  heavy,  barricaded  doors  at  every  angle, 
each  one  supplied  with  ingenious  mechanical 
contrivances  which  will  bolt  and  bar  them. 
The  tinkle  of  the  bell  also  warns  the  gamblers, 
who  fly  out  at   rear  exits,  or  up  to   the   roof. 

That  these  contrivances  for  protection  from 
interference  are  very  ingenious,  is  illustrated 
by  the  fact  that,  on  one  occasion,  while  a  cer- 
tain wonderfully  active  and  efficient  officer  was 
hotly  pursuing  the  Mongolians  in  one  of  those 
winding  passages,  he  suddenly  found  himself 
hauled  up  to  the  ceiling,  with  his  neck  in  a 
noose,  and  there  he  dangled  until  he  was  cut 
down  by  his  brother  officers. 

The  gambling  game  which  the  Chinese  in- 
dulge in  is  called  "tan."  It  is  a  simple  bank- 
ing game,  and  played  by  rapidly  dividing  a 
number  of  buttons  into  three  or  four  heaps, 
the  betting  being  whether  the  heaps  contain 


San  Francisco  :  TJic  Chinese  Quarter.      125 

an  odd  or  an  even  number.  There  is  also  a 
Chinese  lottery,  which  in  some  respects  re- 
sembles the  game  of  "  policy,"  played  so 
extensively  by  the  colored  population  of  our 
large  Eastern  cities.  On  each  ticket  eighty 
Chinese  numbers  are  printed.  The  buyer  is 
allowed  to  cross  out  five  or  more  of  these 
numbers,  and  if  any  or  all  of  them  when 
drawn  are  found  to  be  prizes,  the  money 
called  for  is  paid.  The  drawings  take  place 
twice  a  day,  and  the  prizes  are  five,  varying 
from  twenty-five  cents  to  one  hundred  dollars. 
The  price  of  the  tickets  is  from  ten  cents  to 
one  dollar. 

Chinamen  have  many  fights  and  quarrels 
among  themselves,  growing  out  of  personal 
jealousies  and  rivalry.  These  may  not  be  so 
common  at  the  present  time,  but  only  a  few 
years  ago  assassination  was  recognized  as  a 
legitimate  means  of  settling  a  difficulty,  and 
such  placards  as  the  following,  offering  rewards 
for  the  removal  of  any  disagreeable  individual, 
were  not  at  all  uncommon  : 

"  The  members  of  the  Wing  Ye  Tong  Society  offer  a 
reward,  on  account  of  Cheung  Sam's  shoe  factory  vio- 
lating our  rule. 

"Consequently,  our  society  discontinued  work. 


126  To   California  and  Alaska. 

"  Unless  they  comply  with  our  rules  again,  we  will 
not  work. 

"  Some  of  our  workmen  secretly  commenced  to  work 
for  them. 

"We  will  offer  $300.  to  any  able  man  for  taking  the 
life  of  one  of  those  men  who  secretly  commenced  to 
work,  and  $500.  for  the  killing  of  Sam  Lee. 

"  We  write  this  notice  and  seal  by  us  for  certainty. 

"  The  reign  of  Quong  Chue,  in  the  second  year.     The 

fourth  of  Chinese  February.  ,,  ,,r  ^t     m-  " 

■^  "  Wing  Ye   1  ong. 

Chinese  assaults  were  quite  common  a  few 
years  ago,  so  common  indeed,  that  the  local 
newspapers  made  mere  items  of  the  occur- 
rences, though  some  of  the  difficulties  were 
what  we  would  call  of  a  vary  grave  character. 
A  captain  of  police,  hearing  a  disturbance, 
once  went  into  one  of  the  narrow  alleys  to  see 
what  was  the  trouble.  He  found  there  a 
Chinaman  on  the  ground  holding  up  his  hands 
to  shield  his  face.  Another  Chinaman  was 
standing  over  him,  a  knife  in  each  hand,  slash- 
ing away  as  hard  as  he  could.  The  fingers  of 
the  unfortunate  victim  were  rapidly  being 
hacked  to  pieces,  the  side  of  his  face  was  a 
bubbling  fountain  of  blood,  his  scalp  was  laid 
bare,  and  his  nose  cut  to  pieces.  The  would- 
be  murderer  was  arrested  and  sentenced  to  ten 
years  in   State-prison,   and   died   there  before 


San  Francisco  :  TJic  CJiinese  Quarter.      127 

his  term  expired  ;  his  victim  recovered  with 
three  fingers  and  a  half,  one  third  of  a  nose,  a 
forehead  divided  in  two  by  a  red  scar,  and  his 
head  drawn  to  one  side  from  the  effect  of 
blood-letting. 

The  Chinese  theatre  is  one  of  the  institu- 
tions of  China  Town.  It  will  seat  nearly  a 
thousand  people,  and  has  a  pit,  gallery,  and 
boxes.  The  men  sit  in  one  part  of  the  build- 
ing wearing  their  hats,  and  women  are  allowed 
the  privilege  of  attending  on  holidays,  when 
the  gallery  is  reserved  for  them.  The  doors 
of  the  theatre  are  opened  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  the  performance  begins  soon 
after,  and  continues  until  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  with  the  exception  of  an  intermission 
at  noon  for  dinner,  and  a  couple  of  hours, 
from  five  to  seven  o'clock,  in  the  evening. 
There  is  no  curtain,  no  scenery,  and  the  play 
is  not  divided  into  acts  and  scenes.  When  a 
man  is  killed,  he  remains  dead  upon  the  stage 
for  a  reasonable  period,  until  he  gets  tired  of 
his  horizontal  position,  when  he  gets  up,  and 
quietly  walks  off  the  stage.  The  orchestra, 
consisting  of  a  row  of  men,  sit  on  the  rear  of 
the  stage  just  back  of  the  performers,  and 
play  gongs,  cymbals,  and  other  loud-sounding 


128  To    California  and  Alaska. 

instruments  dear  to  the  Chinese  heart.  Wo- 
men do  not  take  part  in  the  performance, 
female  characters  being  taken  by  men.  His- 
torical plays  usually  last  about  six  months, 
being  continued  from  night  to  night  until  they 
are  concluded. 

Nearly  all  kinds  of  business  are  represented 
in  China  Town,  from  the  broker  to  the  butcher, 
from  the  cobbler  to  the  commission-merchant, 
from  the  tea-dealer  to  the  thief,  and  from  the 
goldsmith  to  the  gambler.  Many  of  the 
Chinese  are  cigar-makers  and  make  a  cheap 
and  nasty  quality  of  cigars.  Many  are  en- 
gaged in  boot-  and  shoe-making.  A  large 
number  keep  shops  for  the  sale  of  pork.  They 
are  excellent  fishermen.  They  work  on  the 
mountain  roads  and  on  new  railways.  They 
are  employed  in  the  sunny  vineyards  of  So- 
noma, and  clear  snow-drifts  from  the  great 
transcontinental  highways.  They  have  es- 
tablished wood-yards  in  San  Francisco,  and 
with  baskets  tied  on  each  end  of  a  pole,  which 
they  carry  on  their  shoulders,  they  peddle 
vegetables  in  certain  parts  of  the  city.  They 
manage  to  acquire  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
English  to  carry  on  business  intercourse,  but 
their  "  pigeon  English  "  is  very  grotesque  and 


Sa7t  Francisco  :    The  Chinese  Quarter,      i  29 

amusing.  Here  is  a  specimen, — a  "  pigeon 
English  "  renderinor  of  the  first  three  lines  of 
"'  My  name  is  Nerval"  : 

My  namee  being  Nerval  topside  that  Glampian  Hillee, 
My  father  you  sabee  my  father,  makee  pay  chow-chow 

he  sheep, 
He  smallo  heartee  man,  too  muchee  take  care  that  dolla, 

gallo  ? 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA  AND  MOUNT  SHASTA. 


On  the  morning  of  May  4th,  after  leaving 
Redding,  to  which  point  we  had  now  arrived, 
we  gradually  entered  the  mountains  and  ap- 
proached the  far-famed  Shasta  Range,  the 
scenery  growing  grander  as  we  ascended  the 
mountain  a-orofe.  The  railroad  crossed  and 
re-crossed  the  Sacramento  River  eighteen  times 
in  seventy-eight  miles.  The  forest  was  very 
dense,  and  the  trees  tall  and  large.  On  this 
particular  morning,  we  stopped  our  train  soon 
after  breakfast,  just  as  we  were  crossing  a 
beautiful  stream  that  emptied  into  the  Sacra- 
mento, a  short  distance  above  Morley.  Some 
of  the  party  tried  their  luck  at  fishing,  but  we 
were  not  able  to  remain  long,  as  we  were 
afraid  we  might  be  overtaken  by  the  Portland 
express,  which  was  behind  us  at  Redding  ;  as 
it  was,  our  rear  brakeman  ran  up  to  us  and 
said   that  the  train  was   coming  up  the  moun- 

130 


Northern  California  and  Mount  Shasta.      131 

tain.  Our  engineer  had  blown  three  whistles 
to  call  the  party  in,  and  before  we  could  get 
away  the  express  was  waiting  behind  us,  pant- 
ing, as  if  with  impatience,  to  climb  the  steep 
grade  just  ahead.  At  Soda  Springs,  a  short 
distance  above  Dunsmuir,  there  is  an  excellent 
hotel  where  parties  can  stop  over  and  get  good 
fishing.  From  Upper  Soda  we  passed  through 
a  wild  canyon,  over  trestles,  the  road  winding 
in  a  zigzag  course  up  the  mountain.  At  one 
point  we  could  look  down  the  great  declivity 
and  see  three  separate  sections  of  the  road  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  one  below  the  other. 
From  Upper  Soda,  where  we  left  the  Sacra- 
mento, it  is  not  a  half  a  mile  by  the  path  up 
the  mountain  to  McCloud,  but  by  the  railroad 
it  is  eight  miles.  At  this  point  we  stopped 
our  train,  crot  out,  and  oroincj  to  the  edo-e  of 
the  mountain  we  could  look  down  and  see  the 
day-express  train  winding  its  way  up  the  ac- 
clivity some  seven  hundred  feet  below.  Mc- 
Cloud is  a  lumber  town,  filled  with  logs  and 
saw-mills.  In  its  immediate  vicinity  is  the 
McCloud  River,  which  is  famous  for  the  size 
and  quality  of  its  trout. 

At  Sisson,  situated  in  the  Strawberry  Valley, 
a  few  miles  beyond  McCloud,  we  stopped  and 


132  To    California  and  Alaska. 

had  a  fine  sight  of  Mount  Shasta.    This  moun- 
tain is  not  only  the  most  striking  topographical 
feature  of  Northern  Cahfornia,  but  the  largest 
and  grandest  peak  of  the  Cascade  and  Sierra 
Nevada  ranges.    It  stands  alone  at  the  southern 
end  of  Shasta  Valley.     In  approaching  it  from 
the  north  and  south  there  is  a  gradual  increase 
in  the  elevation  of  the  country  for  about  fifty 
miles  ;   the   region    near   the   base    itself   thus 
attains  an  altitude  of  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea.      The  mountain  itself 
is  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea  level.   The  ascent  may  be  accomplished, 
in  a  favorable  season,  without  much  danger  or 
difficulty,  by  stout  resolute  men.     The  extreme 
exhaustion    realized    in    ascending   mountains 
like  Blanc  or  the  Matterhorn  is  not  experienced  ; 
nor  is  the  trial  so  dangerous,  by  reason  of  huge 
fissures  and  icy  chasms  ;    the   main    difficulty 
arises  from  the  rarefied   condition   of  the  air, 
to  which  the  system   must  adapt  itself  rather 
suddenly  for  comfort.    The  ascent  is  frequently 
made  by  parties  who  stop  at  Sisson  and  take 
two  days  for  the  trip,  going  on  horseback  to 
Sisson  Camp,  and  the   next  morning  on  foot 
to  the  summit.      Sisson  Camp   is  just  on   the 
edge  of  the  timber  line.     Parties  go  there,  and 


Northern  California  and  Mount  Shasta. 


00 


remain  for  weeks  at  a  time,  making  hunting 
excursions  into  the  woods  and  remaining  away 
for  three  or  four  days.  The  hunting  in  this 
vicinity  is  said  to  equal  any  that  can  be  found 
on  the  coast  from  Portland  to  San  Francisco, 
and  the  fishing  is  without  a  parallel.  This 
region  is,  in  fact,  a  hunter's  paradise  :  grizzly, 
black,  and  cinnamon  bears,  are  found  without 
number  ;  elk  and  mountain  sheep  tempt  the 
skill  of  the  venturesome  sportsman  ;  antelope 
are  sometimes  seen  on  the  foot-hills ;  while 
deer  of  all  varieties,  especially  the  mule  and 
black-tail,  are  in  such  abundance  as  scarcelv  to 
be  souofht  after. 

The  view  of  the  mountain  from  Shasta 
Plains  is  very  grand.  With  no  intervening 
mountains  to  obstruct  the  prospect,  the  base 
is  seen  resting  among  the  dense  evergreen 
forests  ;  higher  up,  it  is  girdled  with  hardy 
plants  and  shrubs  to  the  region  of  frosts,  and 
thence  the  sheetine  snow.  Durinof  some  sea- 
sons  the  orreat  monarch  seems  to  retire  to 
gloomy  solitudes  and  sits  a  storm  king  upon 
the  clouds,   invisible  to   mortal   eye. 

A  well-known  writer,  Clarence  King,  who 
made  the  ascent  of  Shasta,  thus  relates  one  of 
his  experiences  :     "  From  a  point  about  mid- 


1 34  ^0    California  and  Alaska. 

way  across  where  I  had  climbed  and  rested 
upon  the  brink  of  an  ice-cHff,  the  glacier  below 
me  breaking  off  into  its  wild  pile  of  cascade 
blocks  and  serac,  I  looked  down  over  all  the 
lower  flow,  broken  with  billowy  upheavals,  and 
bright  with  bristling  spires  of  sunlit  ice.  Upon 
the  right  rose  the  great  cone  of  Shasta,  formed 
of  chocolate-colored  lavas,  its  sky-line  a  single 
curved  sweep  of  snow  cut  sharply  against  a 
deep-blue  sky.  To  the  left,  the  precipices  of 
the  lesser  cone  rose  to  the  altitude  of  twelve 
thousand  feet,  their  surfaces  half-jagged  ledges 
of  lava,  and  half  irregular  sheets  of  ice.  From 
my  feet  the  glacier  sank  rapidly  between  vol- 
canic walls,  and  the  shadow  of  the  lesser  cone 
fell  in  a  dark  band  across  the  brilliantly  lighted 
surface.  Looking  down  its  course,  my  eye 
ranged  over  sunny  and  shadowed  zones  of  ice, 
over  the  gray-boulder  region  of  the  terminal 
moraine  ;  still  lower,  along  the  former  track 
of  ancient  and  grander  glaciers,  and  down  upon 
undulating  pine-clad  foot-hills  descending  in 
green  steps,  and  reaching  out  like  promon- 
tories into  the  sea  of  plain  which  lay  outspread 
nine  thousand  feet  below,  basking  in  the  half- 
tropical  sunshine,  its  checkered  green  fields 
and  orchards  ripening  their  wheat  and  figs." 


NortJiern  California  and  Mount  Shasta.      135 

In  the  forests  around  Mount  Shasta  are 
found  the  maple,  evergreen  oak,  and  several 
varities  of  pine,  including  the  spruce,  the 
cedar,  and  the  fir.  Chief  among  them  all  for 
symmetry  and  perfection  of  figure  is  the 
majestic  sugar-pine,  nearly  equalling  the  red- 
wood in  size,  and  excelled  by  none  as  a  beauti- 
ful forest-tree.  The  Sacramento  River  rises 
far  up  on  the  southwestern  slope  of  the  moun- 
tain, far  above  vegetation  and  the  timber  line, 
and  almost  amid  eternal  snow.  The  McCloud, 
its  principal  tributary,  rises  on  the  eastern  slope. 

After  leaving  Sisson,  we  travelled  through 
the  beautiful  Shasta  Valley,  later  in  the  day 
ascending  the  Siskiyou  Mountains  just  before 
crossing  into  Oregon.  This  part  of  our  jour- 
ney was  exceedingly  interesting.  At  the  foot 
of  the  grade  we  attached  to  our  train  of  four 
cars  two  larcre  consolidated  engrines.  In  the 
distance  we  could  see  the  road  winding  up  the 
mountain.  At  the  top  of  the  ascent,  ten  miles 
before  we  came  to  it,  we  saw  the  entrance  to 
a  tunnel  which  is  four  thousand  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  which  our  train 
subsequently  passed  through.  The  grade  up 
the  mountain  was  nearly  two  hundred  feet  to 
the  mile.      After  passing  through  the  tunnel 


136  To    California  and  Alaska. 

we  came  to  Siskiyou,  the  highest  point  on  the 
road.  The  view  from  this  point  was  grand  in 
the  extreme.  Looking  down  into  the  valley 
below  we  could  easily  distinguish  the  railroad 
wending  its  wa)  northward,  and  it  seemed  in- 
credible to  us  that  our  train  would  also  soon 
be  in  the  same  position.  To  the  right  and 
east  the  Cascade  Mountain,  extending  fully 
four  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  loomed  up 
into  view.  The  grade  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Siskiyou  Mountains  we  found  more  tortu- 
ous and  much  steeper  than  on  the  south  side, 
and  at  certain  places  our  train  had  to  go  very 
slowly,  lest  our  cars,  being  unusually  long, 
should  strike  the  sides  of  the  mountain.  In 
makinof  our  descent  we  were  obliged  to  cross 
many  high  trestles,  to  go  through  three  tun- 
nels, and  the  road  so  twisted  and  turned  that 
we  could  scarcely  have  told  the  points  of  the 
compass,  much  less  the  locality  in  which  we 
were,  if  we  had  not  been  accompanied  by  the 
superintendent  of  the  division,  who  helped  us 
to  a  knowledge  of  our  surroundings.  When 
we  reached  the  valley  the  scenery  was  of  a 
very  different  character.  We  had  rapidly  been 
taken  away  from  everything  that  pertained  to 
a  tropical  climate,  and  the  rich  and  profuse 
veofetation    for    wliich    California    is    famous. 


Northern  Califor7iia  and  Alount  Shasta. 


oi 


The  region  through  which  we  were  travelhng 
reminded  us  ver)'  much  of  what  we  were 
accustomed  to  see  in  the  East,  more  especially 
the  pastoral  life  peculiar  to  the  New  England 
States.  It  was  noted,  too,  that  even  the  trees 
in  this  part  of  the  country  were  similar  to 
those  to  be  found  around  our  country  home 
at  Shelburne,  \"ermont,  and  very  different 
from  the  varieties  we  had  met  with  on  the 
California  slope. 

Ashland  is  the  terminus  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  road  ;  It  Is  four  hundred  and  thirty-one 
miles  from  San  Francisco.  At  this  point  we 
chancred  en<jines,  and  travelled  over  the 
Oregon  and  California  Railroad,  a  line  leased 
by  the  Southern  Pacific.  During  the  after- 
noon we  stopped  in  the  Shasta  Valley  and 
tried  our  luck  at  fishing  In  a  pretty  stream 
which,  as  we  crossed  it,  looked  as  though 
it  would  give  us  some  sport.  The  train  was 
sent  on  about  five  miles  ahead  to  a  siding, 
with  Instructions  to  return  for  us  In  about  two 
hours.  Our  party  got  out  of  the  cars  and 
fished,  but  succeeded  In  capturing  only  a  few 
of  the  finny  tribe.  Shortly  after  breakfast  on 
this  particular  morning  the  following  telegram 
was  delivered  to  us  ;  It  will  serve  to  Indicate,  in 
some  small  degree  at  least,  the  generous  and 


138  To    California  and  Alaska. 

thoughtful  treatment  we  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  : 

''Dr.   W.  S.   Webb  and  party  : 

"  Good-morning.  I  hope  you  are  enjoying  yourselves 
thoroughly.  Do  not  fail  to  remember  that  I  am  at  the 
other  end  of  the  wire,  and  call  upon  me  for  anything 
you  want.  .  A.  Towne." 

The  northern  part  of  California  is,  in  many 
respects,  one  of  the  most  interesting  portions 
.  of  the  State ;  it  is  particularly  adapted  to 
sheep-grazing,  and  it  is  said  that  there  are  not 
a  few  young  men  who  have  migrated  to  this 
part  of  the  State,  started  with  a  few  sheep, 
and  are  now  wealthy.  Although  the  largest 
flocks  of  sheep  are  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
State,  the  best  quality  of  wool  comes  from  the 
north.  Klamath,  Humboldt,  Trinity,  Tehama, 
Mendocino,  and  Yuba  counties,  where  no  sheep 
formerly  ranged,  now  send  the  best  wool.  A 
few  years  ago  all  the  wool  was  sent  by  sailing 
vessels  round  Cape  Horn  to  New  York  and 
England.  When  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Company  increased  their  carrying  facilities,  at 
the  same  time  reducinof  their  rates  of  freight, 
it  was  sent  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 
At  the  present  time  nearly  all  the  wool  goes 
by  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad. 

Some  enterprising  sheep-grazers  in  the  Sac- 


NortJicrn  California  and  Mount  Shasta.      1 39 

ramento  Valley  own  a  range  in  the  foot-hills, 
and  another  on  the  bottom  lands.  Durino- 
the  summer  the  sheep  are  kept  in  the  bottoms, 
which  are  then  dry,  and  full  of  rich  grasses  ; 
in  the  fall  and  winter  they  are  taken  to  the 
uplands,  and  there  they  lamb  and  are  shorn. 
Sheep  are  sometimes  driven  into  the  moun- 
tains, where  they  have  green  grass  all  summer, 
and  it  is  not  unusual  to  see  groups  of  the  ani- 
mals crossing  the  Sacramento  without  a  driver, 
and  in  the  fall  returning,  of  their  own  motion, 
each  to  its  respective  owner. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


MONTANA. 


We  arrived  at  Portland,  Oregon,  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  May  5th.  Mr.  Boothby, 
of  the  Pullman  Car  Company,  met  us  on  our 
arrival,  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to 
make  our  stay  pleasant  and  comfortable.  We 
attended  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  morn- 
inof,  and  in  the  afternoon  drove  over  the  town 
and  through  the  park.  Portland  Is  the  largest 
town  of  Oregon,  and  lies  on  the  banks  of  the 
Willamette.  We  noticed  that  Sunday  was 
observed  with  much  greater  strictness  than  in 
most  towns  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Large  trees 
are  to  be  found  on  every  hand,  and  the  few 
farms  that  are  to  be  seen  must  have  been 
cleared  at  very  great  expense.  Portland  was 
one  of  the  first  cities  to  be  settled  on  the 
northern   slope  of  the   Pacific  coast,  but   it  is 

140 


Montana.  141 

only  within  the  past  few  years  that  it  has  grown 
much  in  population  ;  most  of  the  immigration 
has  been  towards  Tacoma,  Seattle,  and  other 
towns  farther  north.  The  valley  of  the  Will- 
amette is  a  most  fertile  region,  and  very 
attractive  in  its  natural  curiosities.  Many 
remarkable  instances  are  to  be  found  here  of 
those  eccentric  mountain  formations  known 
as  beetlers — huge  conical,  isolated  hills. 

We  arrived  at  Tacoma  about  midnight  on 
the  5th,  and  were  placed  on  a  side-track.  It 
is  evidently  a  new  and  certainly  not  a  very  in- 
viting-looking city.  When  we  were  there  the 
streets  were  not  paved,  but  were  covered  hub- 
deep  with  mud.  The  sidewalks  had  a  very 
rough  and  crude  appearance,  and  the  whole 
settlement  looked  like  a  frontier  town.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  however,  there  had  been 
such  a  boom  in  real  estate  that  the  price  of  a 
twenty-five  foot  lot  with  a  very  ordinary  build- 
ing on  it  was  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars.  Whittier  may  have  had  such 
Western  towns  in  view  when  he  wrote  : 

I  hear  the  tread  of  pioneers, 

Of  nations  yet  to  be — 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves 

Where  soon  shall  roll  a  human  sea. 


142  To   California  and  Alaska. 

Behind  the  squaw's  light  birch  canoe 
The  steamer  smokes  and  raves, 

And  city  lots  are  staked  for  sale 
Above  old  Indian  graves. 

The  weather  was  cold  and  rauiy  when  we 
arrived  here,  and  our  spirits  were  at  a  very 
low  ebb.  A  call  was  made  upon  the  General 
Superintendent  of  the  Pacific  division  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  who  was  found  to 
be  quite  agreeable  though  very  busy,  and  un- 
able to  leave  his  ol^ce.  He  at  once  made 
arranofements  to  have  us  leave  for  the  East 
over  his  road  as  soon  as  we  could  oet  some  in- 
formation  we  wanted  in  re^rard  to  the  fishingr 
along  the  line.  We  did  not  go  to  Seattle,  as  it 
would  have  consumed  another  day. 

We  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  Cascade  Range 
and  fished  for  two  hours  without  success.  The 
superintendent  of  this  division  came  down  to 
meet  us,  and  with  two  consolidation  enijines, 
each  having  ten  drivers,  took  us  over  the  range  ; 
the  grade,  at  this  point,  being  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  feet  to  the  mile.  This  range  of 
mountains  includes  some  of  the  loftiest  peaks 
in  the  United  States,  among  which  are  Mount 
Hood,  Mount  JefTerson,  and  Mount  Pitt.  The 
first  of  this  orrand  trio  has  a  volcanic  crest  four- 


Montana.  143 

teen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ; 
on  its  northern  side  it  is  nearly  vertical  for 
seven  thousand  feet ;  there  the  snows  of  winter 
accumulate  till  they  reach  the  very  summit, 
but  when  the  summer  thaw  commences  all  this 
vast  body  of  snow  becomes  disintegrated  at 
once,  and,  in  a  sweeping  avalanche,  buries  it- 
self in  the  deep  furrows  at  its  base  and  leaves 
the  precipice  bare. 

We  arrived  at  Spokane  Falls  early  on  the 
morning  of  May  7th.  Dr.  Merriam,  to  whom 
I  had  telegraphed  from  Tacoma,  met  us  on 
our  arrival,  and  gave  us  some  information  that 
we  had  requested  about  the  fishing.  Spokane 
Falls  is  a  very  prosperous  town,  and  the  streets 
are  well  laid  out  and  planned  for  a  city  of 
some  thirty  or  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  al- 
though the  population  at  present  is  less  than 
half  the  first  estimate  mentioned.  This  is  the 
distributing  place  for  the  mines,  and  the  great 
success  which  is  just  now  attending  those  enter- 
prises is  likely  to  materially  raise  the  price  of 
real  estate. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  on  this  particular  morn- 
ing, we  went  to  Hope,  on  Lake  Pend  d'Oreille. 
This  is  a  new  station  and  a  divisional  point  of 
the   Northern   Pacific;  as  the  railroad  moved 


144  ^^   California  and  Alaska. 

its  round-houses  here  owing  to  the  water  giv- 
ing out  at  the  former  terminus.  We  got  a 
boat  from  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
Mrs.  Webb,  Dr.  McLane,  and  the  writer  took 
a  sail  on  the  lake  ;  the  other  members  of  the 
party  went  fishing  in  small  boats  and  had  very 
eood  luck,  catchinof  trout  near  the  shore 
weighing  from  two  to  three  pounds.  This 
lake  is  beautifully  encircled  by  mountains,  and 
is  sixty  miles  long  ;  the  water  is  from  five  hun- 
dred to  eight  hundred  feet  deep.  There  are 
no  towns  near  it,  and  it  is  as  wild  a  place  as 
the  traveller  will  seldom  see.  On  the  north- 
ern bank  of  the  lake  there  is  a  very  small 
place  called  Chloride,  where  the  miners  stop 
on  their  way  to  the  Chloride  Silver  Mines. 
Before  we  left  this  locality  for  Helena,  which 
we  did  the  next  evening  at  half-past  six,  the 
boys  went  out  fishing  again  and  returned  with 
a  very  good  catch. 

We  arrived  at  Helena  on  the  morning  of 
May  9th.  Mr.  Shelby,  the  General  Manager 
of  the  Montana  Central  (which  is  a  part  of 
the  Manitoba  system),  met  us  on  our  arrival 
and  took  us  over  the  road  to  Butte,  the  largest 
mining  city  in  the  world,  where  the  celebrated 
Anaconda  Silver   Mines  are  located.      After 


Montana.  145 

lunch  we  took  carriages  and  drove  around  the 
city,  which  struck  us  as  being  a  very  strange 
town.  Half  of  the  population  worked  in  the 
mines  during  the  day,  and  the  other  half  dur- 
ing the  night.  The  liveliest  hours  of  the  day 
were  twelve  o'clock  noon,  and  at  midnight, 
when  the  day  gangs  came  up  to  be  relieved 
by  the  night  workers. 

The  primitive  manner  of  gathering  gold  in 
the  Montana  mines  is  rude  and  incomplete 
enough.  In  all  the  gulches,  at  depths  vary- 
ing from  six  to  fifty  feet,  is  a  bed-rock  of  the 
same  general  conformation  as  the  surface. 
Usually  this  is  granite  ;  but  sometimes  before 
reaching  the  primitive  rock  two  or  three  strata 
of  pipe-clay — the  later  beds  of  the  stream, 
upon  which  frequently  lies  a  deposit  of  gold — 
are  passed.  Upon  the  bed-rock  is  a  deposit 
from  three  to  four  feet  in  depth  of  gravel  and 
boulders,  in  which  the  eold  is  hidden.  This 
is  called  by  the  miner  "pay-dirt,"  and  to  re- 
move it  to  the  surface  and  wash  it  is  the  end 
of  mining.  It  is  an  expensive  and  laborious 
process  indeed.  The  w^ater  has  first  to  be 
controlled ;  and  in  mines  of  not  too  great 
depth  this  is  done  by  a  drain  ditch  along  the 
bed-rock,  commenced  many  claims  below.      In 


146  77?   Calif or7iia  and  Alaska. 

this  all  the  claim-holders  are  interested,  and 
all  contribute  their  quota  of  the  labor  and 
expense  of  digging  it.  The  district  laws  per- 
mit every  person  to  run  such  a  drain  through 
all  the  claims  below  his  own,  and  force  every 
man  to  contribute  alike  towards  its  construc- 
tion, on  pain  of  not  being  allowed  to  use  the 
water,  even  thougrh  it  flows  through  his  own 
land.  The  water  controlled,  the  rest  is  mere 
physical  labor,  which  only  bones  and  sinews 
of  iron  can  endure.  In  the  shallow  diofeincxs 
the  superincumbent  earth  above  the  pay-dirt 
is  removed,  and  the  process  is  called  "strip- 
ping." In  deep  diggings  a  shaft  is  sunk  to  the 
bed-rock,  and  tunnels  are  run  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  this  is  called  "drifting."  The  roof 
is  supported  by  strong  piles,  but  these  sup- 
ports too  frequently  give  way,  and  hurry  the 
poor  miners  to  untimely  deaths.  The  pay- 
dirt,  in  whichever  way  obtained,  is  then  shov- 
elled into  the  sluice-boxes — a  series  of  lono^ 
troughs  so  made  as  to  prevent  the  gold  from 
washing  past,  or  the  dirt  from  settling  to  the 
bottom.  The  gold  being  heavier  sinks  to 
the  bottom  and  is  caught  by  cross-bars  called 
"  riffles "  ;  in  the  lower  boxes  is  frequently 
placed  quicksilver,  with  which  the  lighter  par- 


Aloiitana.  147 

tides  amalgamate.  Durinij  the  washincrs  the 
large  stones  and  boulders  are  removed  by  a 
fork.  The  heavy  sand  and  iron  are  separated  by 
a  careful  washing  by  hand  and  by  the  magnet. 
In  the  new  and  thinly  settled  countries  of 
the  West  many  ideas  have  always  been  ex- 
pressed by  figures  drawn  from  the  pursuits 
of  the  people.  Much  of  the  language  of  the 
Indians  is  expressed  by  signs.  So,  with 
miners,  their  conversation  is  full  of  expres- 
sions peculiar  to  their  vocation.  The  new 
settler  is  called  a  "pilgrim"  or  a  "tender- 
foot." The  term  "adobe,"  the  sun-dried 
brick,  applied  to  a  man,  signifies  vealiness 
and  verdancy.  A  "corral"  is  an  enclosure 
into  which  herds  are  gathered  ;  hence  a  person 
who  has  everything  arranged  to  his  satisfaction 
announces  that  he  has  everything  "corralled." 
A  man  fortunate  in  any  business  has  "  struck 
the  pay-dirt"  ;  unfortunate,  has  "  reached  the 
bed-rock."  Everything  viewed  in  the  aggre- 
gate, as  a  train,  a  family,  or  a  town,  is  an 
"  outfit."  A  miner  in  criticisinof  a  certain 
lawyer  in  his  neighborhood — "  a  great  blower," 
as  he  would  be  called  in  the  East — said  ex- 
pressively :  "  When  you  come  to  pan  him  out, 
you  don't  find  color." 


148  To   California  and  Alaska. 

The  names  of  the  orulches  near  Helena  are 
very  suggestive  ;  here  are  some  of  the  most 
pecuHar  ones  :  Bean  Gulch,  Bilk  Gulch, 
Boomerang  Gulch,  Greenhorn  Gulch,  Hell- 
Gate  Gulch,  Hail-Columbia  Gulch,  Hangman's 
Gulch,  Hope  Gulch,  Ice-House  Gulch,  Last- 
Chance  Gulch,  Lost-Horse  Gulch,  Magpie 
Gulch,  New-York  Gulch,  Peter's  Gulch,  Show- 
Down  Gulch,  and  Yankee  -  Doodle  Gulch. 
Helena  is  the  second  point  of  importance 
in  the  Territory.  Near  it  are  the  low  valleys 
of  the  Missouri,  which  are  rapidly  becoming 
the  homes  of  thrifty  farmers. 

In  regard  to  the  grazing  qualities  of  this 
country,  finer  grasses  have  never  anywhere 
been  seen  than  between  the  Columbia  and  the 
Missouri  rivers.  Their  nutritive  qualities  are 
apparent  from  the  number  and  condition  of 
the  stock  that  feed  upon  them.  Wild  hay 
is  cut  from  thousands  of  acres.  The  grass 
is  mostly  a  wild  bunch-grass,  growing  from 
twelve  to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  covering 
the  entire  country.  Horses  and  horned  stock 
by  thousands,  and  sheep  by  the  hundreds,  all 
bespeak  the  wealth  that  is  wrapped  up  in  the 
native  grasses  of  this  resfion.  Years  ago  it 
was  prophesied  that  the  wealth  of  this  beauti- 


Montana.  1 49 

ful  region  would  eventually  consist  of  thousands 
of  fleecy  sheep  to  be  sheared  ;  the  streams  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  themselves  might  be 
caught  and  harnessed  to  the  spindles  and 
looms  of  wool  manufactories  to  be  erected, 
and  the  wool-trade  with  the  St.  Louis  market 
would  constitute  a  trade  replete  with  wealth 
and  magnitude. 

The  city  was  started  by  a  few  emigrants 
from  Minnesota,  who  discovered  a  o"old  mine 
which,  for  several  months,  they  worked  quietly, 
amid  their  majestic  mountain  scenery,  making 
no  announcement  of  their  wealth.  In  the 
winter  of  1864  their  secret  became  known, 
and  a  heterogeneous  population  was  drawn  to 
the  locality.  Claims  advanced  in  price,  and 
the  discoverers  reaped  fortunes.  A  hundred 
ravines  near  Helena  showed  gold,  and  every 
one  of  them  was  soon  claimed  from  mouth  to 
source.  The  first  settlement  made  here  was 
called  Last-Chance  Gulch. 

The  years  1865  and  1866  were  those  of  the 
greatest  excitement  and  immigration  and  gold 
production  in  the  Territory.  Li  the  latter 
year,  probably  thirty-five  thousand  people  were 
there,  and  twelve  to  fifteen  millions  of  dollars 
were   taken    out,    mostly    from   the   sides   and 


150  To   Calif or7tia  and  Alaska. 

bottoms  of  the  o-ulches.  Two  men  washed 
out  a  ton  of  gold,  and  from  a  single  "  bar"  in 
Confederate  Gulch  three  companies  took  a 
million  and  a  half  of  dollars'  worth. 

The  ranchman  finds  in  Helena  a  orood  mar- 
ket  for  his  produce  —  butter,  eggs,  cattle, 
horses,  sheep,  etc.  The  majority  of  the 
ranches  are  stocked  with  the  best,  and  it  is 
not  a  matter  of  wonder  that  they  furnish  the 
finest  veal,  beef,  and  mutton  in  the  world. 
It  is  a  fact  that  cattle  are  herdeci  durine  the 
winter  months,  and  on  the  approach  of  spring 
are  in  better  condition  and  fatter  than  cattle 
in  the  Eastern  States  which  are  corn-fed  and 
kept  stabled  during  the  same  period.  The 
same  remark  also  applies  to  horses  and  mules. 
Considering  the  newness  of  the  country  it  is 
well  supplied  with  produce.  Thousands  of 
tons  of  hay  are  put  up  every  season,  and 
esculent  roots  are  raised  in  prolific  quan- 
tities. 

We  left  Helena  on  the  evening  of  the  9th 
of  May,  passing  through  the  Prickly-Pear 
Canyon  and  following  the  Missouri  River. 
The  road  crossed  and  recrossed  the  old  staee 
route  to  Helena,  which  was  abandoned  only  a 
few  years  ago. 


Montana.  1 5 1 

Great  Falls  (at  which  point  we  arrived  about 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening)  is  situated  at  the 
wonderful  falls  of  the  Missouri  River,  just 
where  the  Sun  River  empties  into  that  stream. 
The  town  is  beautifully  located,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  it  has  more  natural  resources,  as  a  town 
site,  than  any  other  place  in  the  country.  At 
this  point  the  Missouri  River  has  a  fall  of  five 
hundred  feet  in  a  few  miles.  The  country 
around  the  town  is  a  gently  undulating  plain, 
the  land  being  of  an  excellent  quality  and 
varying  from  a  sandy  loam  to  a  dark  clay 
loam,  without  any  admixture  of  sand.  This 
description  of  country  extends  for  miles  around 
Great  Falls,  the  nearest  mountains,  plainly  in 
sight  and  densely  timbered,  being  twenty-five 
miles  away. 

The  principal  street  is  lined  with  business 
houses,  built  of  brick  and  stone.  Though  the 
town  is  only  three  years  old,  it  has  a  popu- 
lation of  two  thousand  inhabitants,  public 
parks,  electric  lights,  a  fine  hotel,  and  public 
school-house.  Eventually  it  will  be  the  dis- 
tributing point  for  all  the  mines  in  the 
neighborhood  ;  it  will  be  to  Montana  what 
Denver  and  the  country  surrounding  it  are 
to   Colorado. 


152  To   California  and  Alaska. 

On  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  May,  with 
an  enorine  and  the  buffet-car,  we  went  to  San 
Colli,  about  sixteen  miles  south  of  Great  Falls, 
where  the  new  coal-mines  are  located.  These 
mines  were  discovered  a  short  time  before  we 
visited  them,  and  have  now  been  worked  about 
a  year  and  a  half.  They  have  a  working  thick- 
ness of  from  seven  to  fourteen  feet.  Previous 
to  their  discovery  the  railroad  at  this  point 
was  compelled  to  haul  its  coal  from  St.  Paul, 
a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  obtaining 
the  greater  part  of  it  from  Ohio.  Since  the 
discovery  of  the  coal-mines  a  large  smelter  has 
been  put  up  by  prominent  New  York  capital- 
ists, to  smelt  iron  ore,  which  is  found  in  the 
hills  near  by  in  great  abundance.  A  railroad 
has  been  built  to  the  mines,  so  that  now  the 
ore  can  be  delivered  to  the  smelter  at  com- 
paratively small  cost.  A  million  dollars  has 
already  been  expended  on  this  smelter,  and  a 
Boston  company  has  lately  erected  another  at 
a  cost  of  half  a  million  more  than  that  sum. 
Heretofore  it  would  not  have  been  practicable 
to  erect  smelters  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
owing  to  the  want  of  coal,  but  since  its  dis- 
covery ores  can  be  brought  from  Butte  and 
the  mines  near  by  direct  to  the  smelter,  and 
smelted,  thus  leaving  only  the  valuable  part  of 


Montana.  153 

the  ores  to  be  transported  East.  The  reader 
can  form  some  idea  of  the  richness  of  the  ores 
in  the  mines  south  of  this  point,  when  it  is 
stated  that  the  owners  can  afford  to  draw  the 
ores  by  team  a  distance  of  nearly  sixty  miles 
to  the  smelter.  There  is  also  at  this  place  a 
very  valuable  lime  quarry,  which  yields  fifty- 
two  per  cent,  of  lime. 

We  were  all  very  much  interested  in  our 
visit  to  the  smelter,  and  also  enjoyed  the  sight 
of  an  enormous  spring  that  bursts  from  the 
ground  just  below  Black  Eagle  Falls,  about 
one  hundred  yards  back  from  the  river.  This 
is  the  largest  known  spring  in  America,  and 
is  believed  by  many  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  sub- 
terranean river.  According  to  an  enofineer's 
report  on  the  subject,  the  volume  of  water 
from  it  equals  a  river  one  foot  deep  and 
seventy  yards  wide.  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark, 
who  explored  the  Missouri  in  1804,  mentioned 
this  great  natural  phenomenon. 

Here,  also,  is  a  natural  spring  of  pure  cold 
water,  which,  if  walled  up,  to  any  desired 
height,  could  supply  the  upper  story  of  any 
house  on  the  highest  point  in  this  region, 
while  in  quantity  there  is  enough  to  supply 
two   cities  as  lar^e  as   New  York. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


THE  GARDEN  OF    MONTANA." 


On  leaving  Great  Falls,  coming  east,  we  jour- 
neyed for  two  hundred  miles  through  the  Judith 
basin,  which  is  known  as  "  The  Garden  of  Mon- 
tana." Benton,  which  is  forty  miles  northeast 
of  Great  Falls,  is  one  of  the  great  shipping 
points  of  Montana.  In  1888  there  were  shipped 
from  Benton  three  thousand  four  hundred  head 
of  fat  cattle,  sixty-two  thousand  five  hundred 
head  of  sheep,  and  nearly  two  million  pounds  of 
wool.  From  "The  Garden  of  Montana"  east 
of  Great  Falls,  on  the  Manitoba  Railroad,  in 
the  same  period,  there  were  shipped  thirty-five 
thousand  head  of  fat  cattle,  ninety-four  thou- 
sand head  of  sheep,  and  about  two  and  a  half 
million  pounds  of  wool. 

We  passed  through  Assiniboia,  near  to  which 
is  Fort  Assiniboine,  which  we  could  see  from 
the  train.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  best- 
built  military  posts  in   the  United  States,  the 

154 


"  TJic  Garden  of  Mont  ana  r  155 

buildines  alone  havIiiLr  cost  over  two  millions 
of  dollars.  There  are  seven  companies  of  Infan- 
try and  two  of  cavalry  stationed  here.  Before 
the  railroad  was  built,  some  tw^o  years  and  a 
half  ago,  Helena,  two  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  away,  was  the  nearest  point  of  railroad 
communication.  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  rising 
out  of  an  almost  level  prairie,  can  be  seen  for 
miles  around.  The  ranofe  is  about  seven  thou- 
sand  feet  high,  and  is  covered  by  large  tracts  of 
pine  timber.  Several  streams  of  fine  spring 
water  gush  forth  on  the  plains  from  the  sides 
of  the  mountain  range.  Valuable  leads  of  gold, 
silver,  and  lead  were  discovered  two  summers 
ago,  and  many  mines  were  located.  At  the 
base  of  these  mountains  is  one  of  the  most  at- 
tractive tracts  of  land  ever  seen  ;  it  is  slightly 
rolling,  and  elevated  about  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  valley  of  the  Milk  River.  Summer 
before  last  we  were  told  that  the  orass  was 
waist-high  over  the  whole  face  of  the  country, 
and  very  thick ;  it  had  been  nourished  by  the 
frequent  summer  showers  which  are  peculiar  to 
this  section.  Lar^re  veins  of  the  finest  bitumi- 
nous  coal,  from  six  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness, 
crop  out  at  frequent  intervals  along  the  banks 
of  the  streams. 


156  To    California  and  Alaska. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  tow- 
ards evening  was  unsettled  and  looked  very 
new  ;  although  a  fertile  and  good  grass  coun- 
try, for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles  we  saw 
only  four  houses,  and  those  were  railway  sta- 
tions. Many  of  the  stations  on  this  part  of 
the  road  consist  of  simply  a  switch  or  siding, 
with  the  name  put  on  a  post  driven  into  the 
ground  ;  attached  to  the  post  is  a  box  contain- 
ing a  telegraph  key  connected  with  the  wires, 
so  that  an  operator  may  telegraph  in  case  of 
necessity.  The  Manitoba  road  carries  an  op- 
erator on  each  of  its  trains,  so  that  these  boxes 
can  be  used  in  case  of  need.  There  are  no 
lamps  on  these  switches,  and  if  there  were  there 
are  no  inhabitants  here  to  attend  to  them. 

During  a  part  of  the  journey  the  writer  took 
one  of  the  children  on  the  engine,  where  he  re- 
mained an  hour;  it  was  the  first  experience  of 
the  kind  he  had  ever  had.  We  saw  a  number 
of  wolves  on  the  prairie,  and,  at  times,  passed 
many  groups  of  Indians,  especially  at  Assini- 
boine,  where  we  f)urchased  from  them  a  num- 
ber of  buffalo  horns. 

Although  this  country  is  so  sparsely  inhabited 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  only  eighteen 
months  before  we  saw  it  there  was  no  rail- 
road   passing    through    the    section,    and    the 


"  The  Garden  of  jMontana^'  157 

government  had  only  a  year  before  opened  this 
great  reservation  for  settlement,  which,  in 
itself,  is  an  empire  containing  about  eighteen 
millions  of  acres,  eligible  for  free  homes  under 
the  United  States  land  laws.  This  great  tract 
through  which  the  railroad  runs  is  the  cream  of 
the  Territory,  and,  without  doubt,  in  the  future 
will  represent  the  great  grain-producing  sec- 
tion of  the  United  States. 

Many  people  suppose  that  because  this  Ter- 
ritory is  near  the  northern  boundary  its  climate 
is  severe  ;  the  contrary  is  the  case.  It  is  with- 
in the  limits  of  the  warm  winds  which  blow  from 
the  Pacific  coast  in  the  winter.  These  winds 
are  called  "chinooks,"  and  as  long  as  they  con- 
tinue, which  is  often  for  days  at  a  time,  the 
weather  will  be  mild  and  spring-like.  The 
limit  of  the  "chinook"  winds  is  three  hundred 
miles  east  of  the  mountains,  and  within  this  sec- 
tion all  kinds  of  stock  graze  at  large  the  year 
round.  The  valleys  are  protected,  and  with 
the  high  plains  are  all  richly  watered.  The 
slight  snows  melt  immediately  after  they  fall, 
leaving  the  ground  bare,  and  it  is  very  seldom 
that  there  is  enoueh  snow  to  allow  slei(jhinof. 
The  rivers,  if  they  close  at  all,  remain  frozen 
but  for  a  few  weeks,  the  ice  invariably  going 
out   the   last   of   January  or  during  February. 


158 


To   California  a?id  Alaska. 


Signal-service  records  show  that  the  tempera- 
ture in  the  winter  is  often  higher  at  Great  Falls 
than  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  or  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  In  the  vicinity  of  Great  Falls  the 
climate  is  especially  beneficial  to  persons  with 
weak  lungs,  consumption  and  kindred  diseases 
beincr  almost  unknown. 


Temperatures  for  ' 

February,  1888 

,  AT 

Helena. 

Chicago. 

St. 

Louis. 

7  A.M.   3  P.M. 

7  A.M.  3  P.M. 

7A.M. 

3  P.M. 

Februai 

)'  I 

30      36 

30    32 

30 

34 

( ( 

2 

28      24 

28    32 

34 

34 

4( 

3 

22      32 

30    32 

32 

34 

<  t 

4 

24      30 

32    32 

32 

36 

<( 

^ 

20      34 

24    20 

22 

20 

(( 

6 

32      36 

6    24 

22 

34 

(  ( 

/ 

38      40 

14    14 

34 

46 

(< 

s 

46      38 

12     0 

14 

16 

(( 

9 

44    44 

16     6 

6 

4 

(t 

lO 

36    42 

4    12 

6 

14 

(( 

II 

44    48 

4    18 

18 

24 

(( 

12 

46     56 

16    28 

18 

44 

^i 

13 

40    40 

26    42 

34 

48 

(< 

14 

42    30 

26     16 

46 

30 

(( 

15 

28    20 

8    16 

16 

26 

<( 

i6 

36    48 

14    36 

24 

44 

i  ( 

17 

34     46 

28    40 

36 

52 

( ( 

i8 

40    42 

36    42 

38 

56 

( I 

19 

34    42 

48    46 

48 

58 

1 1 

20 

34     38 

28    24 

34 

46 

t  i 

21 

34    40 

18    28 

32 

36 

i  ( 

22 

38     46 

28    38 

32 

44 

( t 

23 

32    44 

34    38 

36 

46 

ti 

24 

28    40 

32    40 

38 

42 

I  t 

25 

34     38 

34    16 

30 

30 

(  i 

26 

34    44 

4     6 

20 

22 

1  I 

27 

34    52 

2     6 

0 

12 

(< 

28 

28     12 

10    30 

18 

32 

"  The  Garden  of  Moiitaiiay  159 

The  above  table  will  give  a  very  good  idea 
of  the  temperature  at  Great  Falls,  which  is 
only  a  few  miles  east  of  Helena,  and  if  any- 
thing is  a  milder  climate  than  at  Helena. 

The  farmers  begfin  the  work  of  sowing  their 
crops  in  February  and  March.  The  summers 
are  not  excessively  hot.  Harvest  commences 
in  Auo^ust,  and  fall  work  is  continued  through 
the  months  of  September,  October,  and  No- 
vember. Mild  autumn  weather  lasts  into 
December,  thus  oivinof  a  season  of  nine  or 
ten  months  of  beautiful  weather.  A  notable 
feature  about  the  climate  is  the  dryness  of  the 
air  ;  in  the  winter  the  mountains  can  be  easily 
seen  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  miles  away. 
Wheat  yields  from  thirty  to  sixty  bushels  per 
acre,  oats  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  five 
bushels  per  acre,  barley  forty  to  seventy 
bushels,  timothy  from  one  and  a  half  to  three 
tons  per  acre,  and  other  grains  in  proportion. 
Timber  grows  freely  along  the  rivers  ;  saw- 
mills, tanneries,  flouring-mills,  and  mechanics' 
shops  are  in  active  and  profitable  operation  ; 
so  that,  with  a  climate  almost  as  favorable  as 
that  of  Colorado,  and  a  soil  more  fertile,  and 
an  industry  similarly  diversified,  Montana 
seems  sure  to  occupy  an  important  place  in 
the  commercial  future  of  the  Great  West. 


l6o  To   California  and  Alaska. 

The  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri,  from  which 
the  town  of  Great  Falls  takes  its  name,  are 
esteemed  by  travellers  as  holding  rank  scarcely 
below  the  cataracts  of  Niagara.  Beyond 
Council  Bluffs  commences  a  country  of  great 
interest  and  grandeur,  called  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri ;  buffalo,  elk,  and  mountain  sheep  abound. 
Lewis,  and  Clark,  and  other  travellers  relate 
having  seen  here  large  and  singular  petrifac- 
tions, both  animal  and  vegetable.  On  the  top 
of  a  hill  they  found  a  petrified  skeleton  of  a 
huge  fish,  forty-five  feet  in  length.  Naviga- 
tion is  very  dangerous,  on  account  of  the  swift 
current,  the  countless  islands  and  sand-bars, 
and  the  murderous  "snags"  and  "sawyers." 
A  "snag"  is  a  tree  which,  when  washed  away 
from  the  banks,  floats  into  the  stream,  and 
then  partially  sinks  ;  the  roots  become  fastened 
in  the  bottom,  and  then  the  sharp  stems,  rising 
nearly  to  and  above  the  surface  of  the  water, 
are  the  fatal  snags  that  almost  instantly  sink 
any  steamer  striking  them.  They  always  lie 
with  their  sharp  ends  pointing  down  the  stream, 
and  consequently  are  dangerous  principally  to 
ascending  steamers.  When  a  steamer  is  de- 
scending the  stream,  it  slides  over  them, 
instead  of  being  impaled.  They  are  then 
known  as  "  sawyers,"  if  they  project  above  the 


"  TJic  Garden  of  Mofitanu. 


i6i 


water,  the  current  giving  them  a  waving  mo- 
tion. At  a  low  stage  of  water,  navigation  is 
almost  impossible. 

The  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  are  also 
wonderful,  considered  from  a  utilitarian  point 
of  view,  or,  in  other  words,  the  amount  of 
water-power  which  they  would  be  capable  of 
furnishing,  which,  as  estimated  by  a  prominent 
engineer,  would  be  one  million  horse-power. 
It  would  seem  to  be  only  a  question  of  time 
when  the  town  of  Great  Falls  will  be  another 
St.  Paul  or  Minneapolis.  The  Manitoba  road 
intend  building  a  line  north  of  Great  Falls, 
to  connect  with  the  Canadian  Pacific. 


II 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


FROM  ST.  PAUL  TO  MANITOBA. 


We  arrived  at  St.  Paul  on  Sunday  morning. 
May  1 2th,  about  half-past  seven  o'clock,  and 
after  breakfast  went  at  once  to  the  Ryan 
House.  Soon  after  our  arrival  Mr.  F.  B. 
Clarke,  of  the  Omaha  road,  called  upon  us ; 
we  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  him,  and 
afterwards  spent  the  evening  with  Mr.  Hill. 

After  getting  comfortably  settled  in  our 
rooms  in  the  morning,  we  took  carriages  and 
drove  around  the  city.  Some  of  our  party 
went  to  church,  and  In  the  afternoon  we  took 
another  drive  around  the  town. 

The  following  (Monday)  morning,  the 
writer's  brother,  Walter,  Vice-President ;  Mr. 
Flagg,  General  Superintendent  ;  Mr.  Spoor, 
Division  Superintendent ;  and  Mr.  Smith,  pri- 
vate secretary,  arrived  from  New  York.  The 
morning  was  occupied   in  talking  over  "  Com- 

162 


From  St.  Paul  to  Alaiiitoba.  163 

pany  "  matters.  After  lunch  our  whole  party 
went  out  to  Mr.  Hill's  farm.  While  Mrs.  Webb 
and  the  writer  were  admiring-  the  stock  on  the 
place,  the  rest  of  the  party  went  fishing.  We 
returned  to  the  city  about  seven  o'clock,  in 
time  to  see  Walter  and  his  party  off  to  Chicago. 
Mr.  Smith  had  arranged  to  remain,  and  accom- 
pany us  a  little  way  on  the  Canadian  Pacific, 
when,  with  Louis,  he  intended  to  take  the 
train,  going  home  to  New  York  by  way  of 
Montreal.  We  had  expected  Mr.  Creighton 
Webb  to  join  us  here  and  take  Louis'  place, 
but  for  some  reason  he  could  not  get  away. 
Soon  after  breakfast  we  all  went  over  to 
Minneapolis.  On  our  arrival  there  we  were 
met  by  Mr.  Thomas  Lowry,  who  favored  us 
with  a  pleasant  drive  over  the  city,  showing  us 
the  parks  and  other  places  of  interest,  and  tak- 
ing us  around  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  The 
writer  had  been  to  Minneapolis  many  times 
before,  but  must  confess  that  not  until  this 
occasion  had  he  ever  realized  the  extent  and 
beauty  of  this  magnificent  city.  The  saw-  and 
grist-mills  here  are  numerous  and  extensive. 
The  Driving  Park,  south  of  the  town,  is  an 
enclosure  of  seventy-five  acres,  and  used  for 
the  purpose    indicated  by    its   name.       Lakes 


164  To    California  and  Alaska. 

Harriet  and  Calhoun  also  afford  delightful 
drives,  while  Lake  Minnetonka  is  twelve  miles 
to  the  west. 

At  half-past  twelve  we  returned  to  St.  Paul, 
and  at  once  busied  ourselves  in  getting  ready 
to  start  for  Winnipeg.  At  this  point  the  cars 
were  all  cleaned  both  inside  and  out,  the 
trucks  and  running  gear  were  overhauled,  and 
a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions  laid  in,  in  fact 
every  preparation  was  made  for  our  second 
long  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

Promptly  at  three  o'clock,  with  Mr.  Mohler, 
the  crenial  Assistant  General  Manao^er  of  the 
Manitoba  road,  we  started  northward.  Mr. 
Hill,  Mr.  Clarke,  and  a  group  of  other  friends 
came  down  to  the  station  and  bade  us  orood- 
by.  The  ride  during  the  evening  on  our  way 
north  was  exceedingly  interesting  ;  we  saw  a 
new  part  of  the  road,  and  the  scenery  was 
somewhat  different  from  what  is  seen  on  the 
western  section.  We  found  the  track  to  be  in 
excellent  condition,  and  made  very  good  time 
after  we  came  out  of  St.  Paul. 

As  we  entered  the  park  region  of  Minnesota, 
we  were  continually  passing  lakes  ;  it  is  said 
that  there  are  ten  thousand  of  these  within  an 
area    of   one    hundred    square    miles.      These 


From  St.  Paul  to  Maiiitoba.  165 

lakes  form  one  of  the  most  inviting  and  pictu- 
resque features  of  the  State.  They  are  found 
in  every  section,  and  are  annually  visited  by 
large  numbers  of  tourists  and  sportsmen. 
Sometimes  they  are  little  ponds  a  mile  in  cir- 
cumference, and  again  sheets  of  water  forty  or 
fifty  miles  in  extent.  Their  shores  are  charm- 
ingly wooded,  and  frequently  present  fine 
pictures  of  cliff  and  headland.  The  waters  are 
pure  and  transparent,  and  are  filled  with  white- 
fish,  trout,  pike,  pickerel,  sucker,  perch,  and 
other  finny  inhabitants.  The  largest  of  these 
lakes  are  the  Minnetonka,  the  Osakis  or  Spirit 
Lake,  White  Bear,  Kandiyohi,  Otter  Tail,  and 
Mille  Lacs. 

This  is  a  very  fertile  wheat  country.  Ro- 
mantic stories  of  the  wonders  of  the  land  which 
now  forms  the  State  of  Minnesota  were  told 
more  than  two  centuries  ago  by  the  zealous 
French  missionaries,  who  had,  even  at  that 
remote  period,  pushed  their  adventures 
thither ;  nevertheless,  scarcely  twenty  years 
have  elapsed  since  Immigration  has  earnestly 
set  that  way,  creating  populous  towns  and  cul- 
tivated farms  along  the  rivers  and  valleys  be- 
fore occupied  by  the  canoe  and  the  wigwam  of 
the  savage  alone.      Some  idea  of  the  marvel- 


1 66  To    California  and  Alaska. 

loLis  growth  and  development  of  this  young 
State  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  during 
the  past  decade  the  cultivated  area  of  Minne- 
sota has  increased  nearly  three  hundred  per 
cent.,  the  population  nearly  two  hundred  and 
fifty  per  cent.,  and  the  value  of  manufactures 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent. 

It  seemed  quite  like  home  to  get  back  to 
our  train  and  spend  our  evenings  in  the  buffet- 
car.  The  kindness  and  attention  of  the  Mani- 
toba ofhcials  could  scarcely  be  exceeded ; 
nothing  was  left  undone  to  make  our  journey 
over  their  lines  thoroucrhlv  comfortable  and 
enjoyable.  Their  treatment  reminded  us  of 
the  generous  hospitality  we  had  received  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  more  than  any  other 
experience  we  had  met  with  since  leaving  the 
Pacific  coast.  The  Manitoba  people  are  cer- 
tainly to  be  congratulated  on  having  such  a 
superb  piece  of  property,  and  beyond  a  doubt 
there  is  a  truly  wonderful  future  in  store  for 
It.  Persons  who  are  lookincf  for  homes  in  the 
West  should  not  fail  to  consider  carefully  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  locatinof  on 
the  line  of  this  road  in  Montana ;  we  were 
given  to  understand  that  the  company  offers 
extraordinary  inducements  to  settlers. 


From  St.  Paul  to  Manitoba. 


167 


We  passed  through  Winnipeg  early  on  the 
morning  of  May  15th.  Before  arriving,  the 
writer  had  received  a  telegram  from  the 
American  consul  at  that  place  inviting  our 
party  to  stop  over  at   that   city  and  attend  a 


1  ' 


banquet  which  it  was  intended  to  give  in  our 
honor,  and,  at  the  same  time,  be  presented  to 
the  Governor  of  Manitoba.  We  were  oblicred 
to  decline  this  flattering  invitation,  as  we  had 
arranged  to  stop   at   Winnipeg  on  our  home- 


1 68  To    California  and  Alaska. 

ward  journey,  and  besides  it  was  the  wish  of 
Mr.  Van  Home  that  we  should  go  directly 
through  to  the  coast,  and  stop  at  different 
points  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  road  on  our 
return. 

After  leaving  Winnipeg  the  country  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  one  broad,  level  plain 
— not  a  prairie,  but  a  widening  of  the  valleys 
of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  rivers,  which  unite 
at  Winnipeg.  There  were  large  numbers  of 
cattle  to  be  seen,  and,  behind  the  trees,  glimp- 
ses of  well-tilled  farms  with  comfortable  farm- 
houses. The  farmers  here  devote  their  ener- 
gies to  dairy  products  and  to  cattle-breeding, 
for  nearlv  one  hundred  miles  we  followed  the 
Assiniboine  River,  which  is  marked  by  a  belt 
of  timber.  Between  Winnipeg  and  Brandon 
the  stations  are  about  eight  miles  apart,  many 
of  them  representing  lively  and  enterprising 
towns,  and  at  nearly  all  of  them  are  large  grain 
elevators.  We  arrived  at  Brandon  about  ten 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  May  15th,  and  there 
bade  good-by  to  Louis  and  Mr,  Smith. 

Brandon  has  a  population  of  five  thousand 
four  hundred,  and  is  a  divisional  point  on  the 
railway.  It  is  the  largest  grain  market  in 
Manitoba,  and  the  distributino-  market  for  an 


From  St.  Paul  to  Manitoba.  i6g 

extensive  and  well-settled  country.  It  has  five 
grain  elevators,  a  flouring-mill,  and  a  saw-mill. 
A  railway  is  being  built  from  Brandon  north- 
west to  the  Saskatchewan  country.  At  this 
point,  too,  the  standard  time  changes  to 
"mountain  time  " — /.  c,  it  is  one  hour  slower. 
After  chanorinQT  eno^ines,  and  having  the 
train  carefully  examined,  we  proceeded  on  our 
westward  journey,  passing  through  a  rolling 
prairie,  and  about  one  hundred  miles  from  Bran- 
don we  entered  the  Province  of  Assiniboia. 
We  saw  a  great  number  of  ponds  and  small 
hills  covered  with  low  brush,  where  it  is  said 
excellent  sport  can  be  had  in  the  wild-fowl 
season.  At  Broadview,  a  pretty  place,  but  a 
divisional  point  dependent  upon  the  railway, 
we  chanofed  engines  aofain.  A  short  ride  from 
here  brought  us  to  the  celebrated  Bell  farm, 
which  embraces  one  hundred  square  miles  of 
land.  The  work  upon  this  vast  estate  is  per- 
formed with  military  precision  and  discipline. 
The  furrows  ploughed  on  this  farm  are  usually 
four  miles  in  length  ;  one  furrow  out  and  one 
back  is  considered  half  a  day's  work,  and  in 
the  afternoon  the  same  amount  of  labor  is 
performed.  The  cottages  on  the  farm  are 
built  of  stone,  and  barns  can  be  seen  for  miles 


T  70  To    California   and  Alaska. 


around  ;  the  large  collection  of  buildings  at 
the  headquarters  near  the  railway  station  in- 
clude a  church,  a  flour-mill,  and,  of  course,  a 
grain  elevator  ;  and  it  may  be  said  here  that 
in  this  section  an  elevator  will  be  found  wher- 
ever there  is  wheat  to  be  handled  or  stored. 

After  passing  Qu'Appelle  we  went  for  eight 
miles  through  a  small-timbered  country  and 
then  entered  the  great  Regina  Plain,  which 
seems  to  be  apparently  boundless,  extending 
in  all  directions  ;  the  soil  is  very  fertile  to  a 
great  depth.  Regina  is  the  capital  of  Assini- 
boia,  and  the  distributing  point  for  the  sec- 
tions of  country  lying  far  north  and  south.  A 
railway  runs  from  here  northward,  and  will 
soon  be  extended  to  Edmonton,  on  the  North 
Saskatchewan.  The  Executive  Council  of  the 
Northwest  Territories,  which  embrace  the 
provinces  of  Assiniboia,  Alberta,  Saskatche- 
wan, and  Athabasca,  meets  here.  The  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor's residence  is  at  this  place, 
and  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  are  the 
headquarters  of  the  celebrated  Northwest 
Mounted  Police,  whose  buildings,  including 
officers'  quarters,  drill  hall,  barracks,  offices, 
store-houses,  stables,  etc.,  could  be  plainly 
seen  from  the  train.     The  Northwest  Mounted 


Front  St.  Paul  to  Manitoba. 


i/i 


Police  is  a  military  organization  numbering 
one  thousand  young  and  picked  men,  who  are 
stationed  over  the  Northwest  for  the  purpose 
of  watching  the  Indians,  and  preserving  order 
generally.  Moose  Jaw,  where  we  changed 
engines,  is  another  divisional  point.  There 
we  saw  a  number  of  Indians  encamped  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  The  Indian  name  for 
this  place  is  "  The-creek-where-the-white-man- 
mended-the-cart-with-a-moose-jaw-bone." 

After  leaving  Moose  Jaw  we  noticed  that 
the  prairie  was  well  marked  in  all  directions 
with  old  buffalo-trails,  and  here  and  there  the 
old  wallows.  This  section  was  once  the  home 
of  the  buffalo  ;  we  say  was,  for  their  number 
is  rapidly  decreasing.  Not  one  was  visible, 
for  they  quickly  leave  the  land  which  is 
traversed  by  the  train.  Once,  however,  this 
country  was  blackened  by  their  hordes  as  they 
wandered  over  it  at  their  will,  or  marched 
from  one  feeding-ground  to  another.  In 
making  this  remark  we  may  say  that  they  do 
not  run  in  a  mob  as  represented  in  some  pic- 
tures, but  move  in  single  file,  like  policemen. 
We  crossed  hundreds  of  their  deeply  worn 
tracks  leading  straight  away  into  the  distance, 
and  surely   indicating  that  the  slopes  of   the 


1/2  To    California   aiid  Alaska. 

Rockies  are  fitted  for  the  purpose  to  which 
they  are  being  appHed  by  the  settler,  viz.,  the 
rearing  and  feeding  of  cattle. 

On  this  day  we  ran  very  fast,  and  by  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  had  covered  five  hundred 
and  ten  miles,  arriving  at  Swift  Current,  a 
divisional  point  where  we  changed  engines. 
The  country  was  exceedingly  picturesque 
and  much  more  thickly  settled  than  we 
had  been  led  to  anticipate.  While  riding  in 
the  baggage-car  we  saw  an  antelope,  at  which 
we  had  four  or  five  unsuccessful  shots  ;  we 
also  saw  a  bear  and  a  number  of  wolves. 
Rush  Lake  is  a  favorite  resort  for  water-fowl, 
swans,  geese,  duck,  and  pelican,  which  at  times 
are  seen  here  in  countless  numbers.  Snipe, 
plover,  and  curlew,  which  are  common  enough 
upon  the  prairies,  are  found  here  in  great 
abundance. 

We  changed  engines  at  Medicine  Hat,  sit- 
uated on  the  Saskatchewan  River,  which  is 
spanned  by  a  fine  steel  bridge.  There  are  large 
repair-shops  located  at  this  place,  which  is  a 
very  important  station  on  the  line,  and  not  far 
away  are  large  coal-mines.  The  river  is  navi- 
gable for  some  distance  above,  and  for  eight 
hundred  miles  below.      From  Medicine  Hat  the 


From  St.  Pintl  to  Manitoba.  1 73 

ground   creeps   up   towards   the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

About  thirty-five  miles  from  Medicine  Hat 
is  a  small  station  called  Langevin.  When  they 
were  building  the  railroad  here  they  wanted 
water,  and  after  boring  over  a  thousand  feet, 
hoping  to  make  an  artesian  well,  the  search 
for  water  was  repaid  by  fire.  At  least,  one  day, 
the  borers,  holdine  a  candle  or  strikino-  a  match 
close  to  the  hole,  were  thrust  back  by  a  foun- 
tain of  flame,  which  licked  up  the  house  in 
which  their  engine  was  at  work,  and  there  stood 
a  pillar  of  fire  in  the  midst  of  the  green  prai- 
rie. They  had  then  reached  a  depth  of  nearly 
eleven  hundred  feet,  and,  passing  through  the 
huge  coal-bed  which  lies  beneath,  had  probably 
struck  a  fissure.  At  all  events,  up  rushed  the 
gas,  which,  becoming  ignited,  soon  consumed 
their  solitary  shelter.  Presently,  however,  af- 
ter some  pains,  the  hole  through  which  it  issued 
was  plugged  and  fitted  with  an  iron  pipe,  gov- 
erned by  a  tap.  This  natural  gas  is  now  used 
by  the  railroad  company  to  pump  water  for 
the  engines.  In  August  the  prairie  at  this 
point  is  said  to  present  a  very  fine  appear- 
ance, resembling,  at  times,  a  billowy  ocean  of 
grass. 


I  74  ^    California  and  Alaska. 

We  arrived  at  Gleichen,  a  railway  divisional 
point,  near  the  foot  of  the  Rockies,  on  the  i6th 
of  May,  at  about  half-past  two  in  the  morning, 
We  stopped  there  until  four  o'clock  to  seethe 
sun  rise  on  the  prairie,  and  it  was  one  of  the 
most  imposing  spectacles  we  had  ever  witnessed. 
As  the  orb  of  day  rose  over  the  horizon  it  ap- 
peared to  be  one  mass  of  fire,  while  the  moon 
was  shining  in  the  sky  in  the  opposite  direction. 
The  mountains  at  first  were  invisible,  but  as 
the  sun  gradually  came  into  view  the  reflection 
of  its  bright-red  rays  was  thrown  upon  the 
snowy  peaks  of  the  Rockies  in  the  distance. 
A  few  hours  after  we  had  witnessed  this  sight 
the  mountains  began  to  be  visible  ;  although 
we  had  crossed  the  continent  twice  in  the  pre- 
ceding five  weeks,  it  seemed  as  if  this  was  the 
first  view  we  had  really  had  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Shortly  after  leaving  Gleichen 
we  came  to  Calgary,  very  charmingly  located 
on  the  banks  of  the  Bow  River,  and  surrounded 
by  most  excellent  farming  lands.  This  is  the 
most  important,  as  well  as  the  handsomest, 
town  between  Brandon  and  Vancouver,  and  is 
situated  on  a  hill-girt  plateau,  overlooked  by 
the  white  peaks  of  the  Rockies ;  it  is  the  cen- 
tre of  the  trade  of  the  great  ranching  country, 


From  St.  Paid  to  Alanitoba.  i  75 

and  the  chief  source  of  supply  for  the  mining 
districts  in  the  mountains  beyond.  The  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  have  here  an  important  post, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  principal  stations  of  the 
Northwest  Mounted  Police.  Lumber  is  easily 
obtainable  here,  as  it  is  floated  down  the  Bow 
River  from  Banff.  Parties  ofoingf  into  the 
extreme  Northwest  leave  the  train  here,  and 
after  travelling-  from  three  to  four  hundred  miles 
into  the  interior  they  find  the  largest  and  best 
horse-ranches  in  existence.  One  of  eleven 
farms  belonging  to  Sir  John  Lister  Kaye  is 
located  at  Calgary.  Sir  John  married  Miss 
Yznaga,  of  New  York.  As  we  passed  through 
Calgary  we  saw  his  car  standing  on  a  side-track, 
he  having  recently  come  over  on  a  visit  from 
the  other  side.  His  eleven  farms  are  located 
alonof  the  line  of  the  road  between  Brandon 
and  Calgary  ;  there  are  ten  thousand  acres  in 
each  of  them,  and  they  are  all  situated  near 
towns,  or  the  nucleus  of  towns,  and  will  event- 
ually be  exceedingly  valuable.  The  land  origi- 
nally cost  a  large  English  stock  company, 
which  Sir  John  represents,  about  $3  an  acre. 
It  is  only  a  question  of  time  before  it  will  be 
worth  from  $20  to  $25  an  acre  for  farming  pur- 
poses alone  ;  much  of  this  property  would  bring 


1 76  To    Califoj^nia  and  Alaska. 

that  price  to-day,  owing  to  its  proximity  to 
growing  towns.  Sir  John  visits  the  farms  twice 
a  year  and  overlooks  the  work. 

After  leaving  Calgary  and  crossing  the 
Bow,  we  ran  through  large  ranches,  and  im- 
mense herds  of  horses  and  cattle  were  to  be 
seen  on  every  side.  At  Morley,  a  station 
near  the  mountains,  we  stopped  for  about  five 
minutes  at  a  trader's  store  and  picked  out  a 
number  of  horns,  heads,  etc.,  and  a  beautiful 
grizzly-bear  skin.  At  Kananaskis  the  moun- 
tains appeared  to  be  close  at  hand,  and  we 
entered  the  gap  or  pass  through  which  the 
Bow  River  runs,  and  which  we  were  to  pass 
through,  and  soon  crossed  the  Rockies.  The 
scenery  at  this  stage  of  the  journey  was  grand 
and  impressive.  Above  us,  on  both  sides,  we 
saw  vertical  walls  rising  to  a  dizzy  height, 
snow-laden,  seared  and  scarred  by  enormous 
gorges  and  promontories.  At  Canmore  we 
changed  engines,  and  here  had  an  excellent 
view  of  the  mountain  representing  in  profile 
what  are  called  the  "  Three  Sisters."  Follow- 
ing the  Bow  River  we  entered  the  Canadian 
National  Park.  We  hauled  up  on  a  side-track 
and  waited  for  the  transcontinental  train  for 
the  East  to  pass.      The  weather  being  quite 


Fro77t  St.  Paul  to  Manitoba. 


177 


warm,  we  took  the  children  out  for  an  airing  ; 
some  of  the  party  amused  themselves  by  firing 
at  a  mark,  while  others  made  use  of  their  fish- 
inof-rods  in  Bow  River. 

The  ride  from  here  on  through  the  moun- 
tains  was  grand  beyond  description.  Each 
mountain  as  it  loomed  up  into  view  seemed 
grander  and  more  imposing  than  the  last.   The 


'"K.--. 


,tjj'>*;: 


St", 


^i^   -^L^--<^«t--^  : 


scenery  in  this  part  of  the  country  is  certainly 
more  magnificent  than  anything  we  had 
dreamed  of.  As  we  neared  the  summit,  an 
altitude  of  five  thousand  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea,  Castle  Mountain  was  seen 
ahead,  a  sheer  precipice  five  thousand  feet 
high,  surmounted  with  turrets,  bastions,  and 
battlements  complete,  and  partly  snow-capped. 


12 


I  78  To    California  a? id  Alaska. 

At  the  summit  we  passed  by  a  small  lake 
called  Summit  Lake,  in  which  were  vividly 
reflected  the  surrounding  mountains.  About 
half  a  mile  east  of  this  point,  the  water,  as  it 
trickled  down  the  mountain  side  and  entered 
the  ditch  on  the  side  of  the  road,  could  be 
seen  to  divide,  part  running  to  the  east  and 
part  to  the  west.  From  here  our  descent  was 
rapid,  as  we  crossed  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
Kicking  Horse.  Here  the  scenery  is  sublime, 
even  terrible.  Looking  off  to  the  north  you 
behold  one  of  the  grandest  mountain  valleys 
in  the  world,  stretching  far  away  in  the  dis- 
tance, with  great  white  glacier-bound  peaks  on 
either  side.  On  the  left  of  the  track  you  see 
the  double  head  of  Mount  Stephen,  eight 
thousand  feet  above  the  valley,  and  get  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  Cathedral   Mountain. 

The  grade  from  the  summit  is  so  steep  and 
perilous  at  this  point  that  a  heavy  consolida- 
tion engine  was  put  on  ahead  of  our  loco- 
motive, and  we  were  taken  down  at  a  speed 
of  not  over  ten  miles  an  hour.  Every  mile  or 
so  there  is  a  switch  to  a  track  leading  up  the 
mountain  side  ;  in  case  anything  should  occur 
to  make  the  train  unmanageable,  a  switchman 


MOUNT    STEPHEN,    CANADIAN    PACIFIC    RAILWAY. 


From  St.  Paul  to  Manitoba.  i  79 

stands  ready  to  open  the  switch,  stop  the 
train  in  its  downward  course,  and  send  it  up- 
hill, where  it  would  soon  stop.  At  Field,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Stephen,  is  an  excellent 
hotel  managed  by  the  railway  company.  It 
is  a  favorite  stopping-place  for  sportsmen. 
Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  goat,  and  grizzly 
bears  are  to  be  found  in  larsfe  numbers  in 
these  mountains.  We  remained  here  a  few 
moments,  and  the  writer  took  a  view  of  our 
train,  with  Mount  Field  in  the  distance  ;  an 
attempt  was  made  to  take  it  with  Mount 
Stephen  in  the  distance,  but  the  latter  acclivity 
was  too  higrh. 

Leaving  Field  we  crossed  the  Otter  Tail 
River,  then  the  Beaverfoot  at  the  left.  The 
Otter  Tail  Mountains  rise  abruptly  to  an 
immense  height,  while  to  the  south,  to  an  im- 
measurable distance,  the  Beaverfoot  Mountains 
can  be  seen.  The  river  and  railway  here  enter 
the  Kicking  Horse  Canyon,  which  rapidly 
deepens,  the  walls,  an  easy  stone's  throw  from 
either  side,  rising  vertically  thousands  of  feet. 
The  railway  runs  for  twelve  miles  down  this 
grand  chasm,  nowcrossing  over  to  ledges  cut  out 
of  the  solid  rock,  twisting  and  turning  in  every 


i8o 


To   California  and  Alaska. 


direction,  while  towering  cliffs  almost  shut  out 
the  sunlight,  and  the  roar  of  the  river  and  cars 
is  increased  a  hundredfold  by  the  echoing 
walls,  until  the  train,  running  out  into  a  valley, 
suddenly  emerges  into  daylight. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


MOUNTAINS  AND  GORGES   ON  THE    CANADIAN 
PACIFIC  RAILWAY. 

After  we  passed  through  the  Kicking  Horse 
Canyon  and  entered  the  valley  we  saw  before 
us  the  Columbia  River,  a  stream  of  great 
width,  moving  northward,  and  obtained  our 
first  glimpse  of  the  celebrated  and  long-looked- 
for  Selkirks,  which  had  so  often  been  the  sub- 
ject of  our  conversation,  and  which  we  had 
long  been  anxious  to  see.  Our  expectations 
in  regard  to  their  grandeur  were  not  to  be  dis- 
appointed, for  on  the  day  we  saw  them  they 
presented  a  noble  appearance,  as  they  seemed 
to  rise  from  their  forest-clad  bases,  and  lifted 
their  ice-capped  heads  high  into  the  sky  above. 
In  form  they  are  simply  incomparable,  and  as 
they  stood  there  in  their  matchless  majesty, 
bathed  in  the  glow  and  warmth  of  the  after- 
noon sun,  they  called  forth  expressions  of  the 

i8i 


t82  To    California  ami  Alaska. 

highest  admiration  from  e^very  member  of  the 
party. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  divided 
into  four  divisions — the  Eastern,  the  Ontario 
and  Atlantic,  the  Western,  and  the  Pacific. 
At  Donald,  which  is  the  beeinnine  of  the 
Pacific  Division,  we  changed  engines,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Marpole,  the 
Division  Superintendent  of  the  road.  Here, 
too,  we  were  compelled  to  bid  good-by  to  our 
friend  Mr.  Niblock,  who  had  accompanied 
our  party  from  Swift  Current,  and  had 
kindly  given  us  details  and  descriptions  of 
the  scenes  through  which  w^e  had  passed, 
and  which,  in  some  measure,  and  it  is  feared 
but  imperfectly,  have  been  transferred  to 
these   pages. 

Donald  is  charmingly  situated  on  the  Co- 
lumbia River,  within  the  very  shadow  of  the 
Selkirks.  The  headquarters  of  the  mountain 
division  is  located  here,  with  the  repair  shops, 
etc.  At  this  point  the  traveller  changes  to 
"  Pacific  time  "  —  the  time  goes  back  one 
hour. 

Leaving  Donald  we  crossed  the  Columbia 
River  and  entered  the  Selkirks,  going  up 
Beaver  River  and  crossing  it  on  the  ricrht  side 


Mountains  and  Goro-es. 


i8 


of  the  mountain.  The  ascent  was  commenced 
at  Bear  Creek,  one  thousand  feet  above  Beaver 
Riven  At  this  point  a  magnificent  view  is  had 
of  Beaver  Valley,  which  extends  off  to  the 
south  until  it  is  finally  lost  in  the  mountains. 
From  here  a  long-  line  of  the  higher  peaks  of 

the  Selkirks  is  seen,  cul- 
minating in  that  lofty 
mountain,  Sir  Donald. 
The  railroad  here  as- 
cends the  banks  of  Bear 


yore  Ao/ijTj 


Creek  at  a  sfrade  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
feet  to  the  mile. 

The  construction  of  this  part  of  the  road  is 
a  triumph  of  engineering  skill ;  many  narrow 
gorges  in  the  mountain  side,  the  pathways  of 
avalanches,  had  to  have  the  bridges  over  them 
protected.       The    most     noticeable    of     these 


184  To   Calif orjiia  and  Alaska. 

bridges  was  the  Stony  Creek  bridge,  the 
highest  structure  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  the 
distance  below  the  rails  beine  two  hundred 
and  ninety-five  feet.  We  found,  upon  inquiry, 
that  the  great  difficulties  of  the  railway  com- 
pany from  snow  in  the  winter  season  occur 
from  Bear  Creek  and  the  Summit,  and  a  simi- 
lar distance  down  on  the  other  side.  These 
bridges  are  protected  by  heavy  logs,  built  in 
the  shape  of  angular  piers,  and  so  placed  in 
the  ororcre  as  to  break  the  slide  of  snow  and 
subdivide  it  ;  in  that  way  its  force  is  lessened, 
and  it  is  guided  away  under  the  bridges.  The 
snow-sheds,  which  we  entered  not  far  from 
here,  cost  the  company  over  $3,000,000.  They 
are  open  on  the  side  for  the  purpose  of  admit- 
ting the  light,  and  are  completely  equipped 
with  hose,  etc.,  to  be  used  in  case  of  fire,  and 
are  guarded  by  men  day  and  night.  These 
sheds  are  built  of  heavy  squared  cedar  timber, 
dove-tailed  and  bolted  together,  backed  with 
rock,  and  fitted  into  the  mountain  side  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  bid  defiance  to  the  most  terrific 
avalanche. 

As  we  ascend  the  mountain.  Bear  Creek  is 
gradually  compressed,  by  Mount  Macdonald 
on  the  left  and  the  Hermit  on  the  right,  into 


Mountains  and  Gorges. 


185 


one  narrow  deep  ravine,  which  forms  a  con- 
tracted portal  to  Rogers'  Pass  at  the  summit. 
As  our  train  emerwd  from  the  snow-sheds, 
Mount  Macdonald  was  seen  towering  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  above  the  railway  to  an  almost 
vertical  height,  its  numberless  pinnacles  pier- 
cing the  very  zenith.     As  Mr.  Van  Home  says 


^m:m. 


in  describing  the  scene  :  "  Its  base  is  but  a 
stone's  throw  distant,  and  it  is  so  sheer,  so 
bare  and  stupendous,  and  yet  so  near,  that 
one  is  overawed  by  a  sense  of  immensity  and 
mighty  grandeur.  This  is  the  climax  of 
mountain  scenery.  In  passing  before  the 
face  of  this  gigantic  precipice,  the  line   clings 


1 86  To    California  and  Alaska. 

to  the  base  of  Hermit  Mountain,  and,  as  the 
station  at  Rogers'  Pass  is  neared,  its  clustered 
spires  appear,  facing  those  of  Mount  Mac- 
donald,  and  nearly  as  high.  These  two  match- 
less mountains  were  once  apparently  united, 
but  some  great  convulsion  of  nature  has  split 
them  asunder,  leaving  barely  room  for  the 
railway." 

This  pass  was  named  after  Major  A.  B. 
Rogers,  by  whose  adventurous  energy  it  was 
discovered  in  18S3  ;  previous  to  that  time  no 
human  foot  had  ever  been  planted  on  the  sum- 
mit of  this  great  central  range.  The  pass  lies  be- 
tween two  lines  of  huge  snow-clad  peaks.  The 
pass  on  the  north  side  forms  a  prodigious  amphi- 
theatre, under  whose  parapet,  seven  or  eight 
thousand  feet  above  the  valley,  half  a  dozen 
glaciers  may  be  seen  at  once,  and  so  near  that 
their  shining  green  fissures  are  distinctly  visible. 
The  chans^ringr  effects  of  licrht  and  shadow  on 
this  brotherhood  of  peaks,  of  which  The  Her- 
mit and  Macdonald  are  the  chiefs,  can  never 
be  forgotten  by  the  fortunate  traveller  who 
has  seen  the  sunset  or  the  sunrise  tinting  their 
battlements,  or  has  looked  up  from  the  green 
valley  at  a  snow-storm,  trailing  its  white  cur- 
tain along  their  crests,  with  perchance  a  snowy 


Moiiiitaijis  and  Gorges. 


1S7 


peak  or  two  standing'  serene  above  the  harm- 
less cloud.  The  line  of  peaks  connecting' 
Macdonald  with  Sir  Donald  stretches  to  the 
south,  their  rear  slopes  having  been  visible  in 
ascending  the  Beaver.  This  pass-valley  has 
been  reserved  by  the  government  as  a  national 
park. 


«w,^i^  y^W^Z^  ^-iiiXatUA^ 


Leaving  Selkirk  Summit,  the  road  com- 
mences to  descend  the  mountains,  and  off 
to  the  right  is  seen,  for  many  miles  far  be- 
low, the  deep  valley  of  the  IlHcilliwaet,  which 
makes   its  way  westward,  following  a  devious 


1 88  To    Calif cn'-7iia  and  Alaska. 

course  throueH  the  mountains.  The  hne  of 
the  railroad  can  easily  be  traced,  until  it  finally 
reaches  the  bottom  of  the  valley  by  a  series 
of  extraordinary  curves,  doubling  upon  itself 
ao-ain  and  aeain.  Some  views  of  this  portion 
of  the  road  are  oiven. 

Directly  ahead  is  seen  the  Great  Glacier  of 
the  Selkirks,  a  vast  plateau  of  sloping  ice, 
extending  as  far  into  the  mountains  as  the 
eye  can  reach.  It  is  claimed  by  the  Pacific 
Railway  people  that  this  glacier  is  as  large  as 
all  the  crlaciers  in  Switzerland  combined. 

We  passed  in  front  of  the  snow-sheds  on  an 
outer  track,  which  is  provided  so  that  travel- 
lers may  view  the  scenery  in  summer,  and  ar- 
rived at  Glacier  Station.  The  train  remained 
at  the  station  about  half  an  hour,  and,  as  we 
did  not  have  time  enough  to  visit  the  Great 
Glacier,  our  party  all  left  the  train  and  took  a 
stroll  in  the  woods.  The  hotel  here  is  a  very 
handsome  building,  after  the  Swiss  chalet 
style,  and  is  owned  and  managed  by  the  rail- 
road company.  It  serves  not  only  as  a  dining- 
room  for  passengers,  but  also  as  a  pleasant 
summer  resort  for  sportsmen  and  tourists. 
Owing  to  the  heavy  grades  here,  and  all 
through    the    mountains,    the    dining-cars  are 


■>      .5-'/-*..       '*         i   ^J-   i-^A    "itii.^ 


-?'      .Jv'^ 


«">««l 


1 


15fi' 


1^    ' 


-^^"lBP!||l»Wi 


li. 


CANADIAN    I'ACIKIC    RAILWAY    STATION    AND 
MOUNT   DONALD   GLACIER. 


Mountains  and  Gorges,  189 

not  run  on  the  through  trains,  as  they  make 
the  trains  too  heavy  ;  but  the  railroad  com- 
pany have  provided,  at  proper  distances  and 
at  the  most  interesting  and  convenient  places 
where  the  scenery  is  the  finest,  comfortable 
hotels,  where  passengers  are  able  to  get  an 
excellent  dinner,  the  trains  stopping  at  such 
stations  between  one  half  and  three  quarters 
of  an  hour.  Passeno-ers  are  also  allowed  to 
remain  two  or  three  days  at  a  station,  or  lie 
over  for  a  train.  The  Great  Glacier  is  about 
half  a  mile  distant  from  the  hotel,  and  only  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  building  ; 
a  good  path  has  been  made  to  it,  so  that  its 
exploration  is  quite  practicable  and  easy.  The 
water  for  the  fountain  in  front  of  the  hotel  is 
furnished  by  piping  a  stream  coming  out  from 
the  Great  Glacier.  This  stream  also  furnishes 
water  for  the  hotel  and  railroad.  The  aeent 
of  the  hotel  informed  us  that  game  is  very 
abundant  in  the  mountains  near  by,  the  local- 
ity being  especially  celebrated  for  the  big- 
horn sheep  or  mountain  goat ;  Canada  bears 
are  also  killed  here  during  the  season.  Elk, 
deer,  and  other  game,  however,  are  not  found 
at  quite  such  altitudes.  A  tame  Canada  bear 
was   chained   to   the  piazza    of  the   hotel  ;  he 


190  To    California  a?id  Alaska. 

had  been  caueht  in  the  mountanis  five  months 
before  we  saw  him,  and  his  antics  furnished 
considerable  amusement  to  passengers  during 
their  stop  at  the  station. 

Leaving  the  Glacier  House,  the  road  makes 
a  rapid  descent  to  the  celebrated  loop  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The  line  makes 
several  startling  curves  and  twists,  crosses  the 
valley,  then  doubles  back  to  the  right  a  mile 
or  more  to  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  track, 
then,  sweeping  around,  crosses  the  valley  again, 
and  at  last  continues  down  the  dell  parallel 
with  its  former  course.  On  looking  back,  the 
railroaci  track  is  seen  on  the  mountain  side, 
cutting  two  long  parallel  gashes  in  the  moun- 
tain, one  above  the  other  ;  far  to  the  left,  and 
still  higher  above  on  the  other  side  of  the  val- 
ley,  is  seen  the  giant  snow-shed,  just  below  the 
summit  near  Roarers'  Pass. 

At  Illicilliwaet  we  crossed  for  the  first  time 
the  Illicilliwaet  River.  The  stream  is  very  small 
here,  but  the  water  is  exceedingly  turbulent 
and  of  a  pea-green  color,  caused  by  glacial  mud, 
but  it  rapidly  clarifies  ;  its  source  is  said  to  be  in 
the  interior  of  the  Great  Glacier,  The  scenery 
is  very  wild,  as  the  gorge  through  which  the 
river   runs    is   very   deep   at  places,  and  filled 


]\To7inf(U}is  and  Gorges. 


191 


with  the  o'lo-antic  forest-trees  for  which  British 

Columbia  is  justly  noted.      At  Albert  Canyon 

the  train  often  runs  along-  the  brink  of  several 

remarkably    deep    fissures    in    the  solid  rock, 

the   walls    of  which,   on    each    side,    rise   to   a 

height   of  one    hundred   feet,    and  at   the  top 

.  /g  ^       are   very    heavily  wooded.      The 

^-        \  l^^^^l      river  is  fully  three  hundred   feet 

^.li| -'1^' '-'■  S|     below  the   railway,  and  is    com- 


pressed  into  a  boiling  flume  not  more  than 
twenty  feet  wide.  We  had  our  train  stop  here 
for  a  few  minutes,  while  we  walked  up  and 
down  the  track  viewing  this  truly  remarkable 
freak  of  nature.  The  depth  of  the  water 
must  be  very  great,  as  the  gorge  through 
which  it  flows  is  very  narrow,  and  the  volume 
of  water  flowinof  throucrh  it  is  enormous. 


192  To    California  and  Alaska. 

At  Revelstoke,  a  railway  divisional  point 
on  the  Columbia  River,  we  changed  engines. 
We  had  seen  the  Columbia  River  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Selkirks  at  Donald  ;  since  then  it 
had  made  a  detour  around  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Selkirks,  while  the  course  of 
the  railroad  is  directly  across  the  mountains. 
At  this  point  the  river  is  not  only  larger,  but 
is  one  thousand  and  fifty  feet  lower  down,  than 
at  Donald.  From  this  point  it  is  navigable 
southward  some  two  hundred  miles,  down  to 
the  United  States  boundary,  where  it  expands 
into  a  number  of  lakes,  around  which  there 
is  said  to  be  a  beautiful  and  fertile  country, 
where  opportunities  for  sport  are  also  unlim- 
ited. According  to  the  railway  officials  this 
co.untry  has  been  rarely  visited  by  sportsmen  ; 
miners  are  about  the  only  people  who  have 
ever  penetrated  its  unknown  recesses.  Koote- 
nay  Lake  and  Valley  are  both  reached  from 
this  point. 

After  leaving  Revelstoke  we  crossed  the 
Columbia  River  upon  a  bridge  about  half  a 
mile  loner  and  entered  another  ranee  of  moun- 
tains  by  Eagle  Pass.  The  railway  officials 
call  particular  attention  to  this  pass,  which  is 
so  deep-cut  and  direct   that   it  seems  to  have 


MoimtaiJis  and  Gorges. 


193 


been  purposely  provided  for  the  railway  in 
compensation,  perhaps,  for  the  enormous  diffi- 
culties the  engineers  had  to  overcome  in  the 
Rockies  and  the  Selkirks.  The  highest  point 
the  railway  is  compelled  to  reach  in  crossing 
this  range  is  only  five  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  above  the  Columbia.    At  the  summit  four 


•!7,  ';  :  ■>  -i' 


<^, 


beautiful  lakes  are  passed  in  quick  succcession, 
each  one  occupying  the  entire  width  of  the 
valley,  and  forcing  the  railway  on  the  moun- 
tain side  in  order  to  pass  them.  This  valley 
is  filled  with  a  dense  growth  of  immense  trees, 
indigenous  to  this  coast — spruce,  Douglas  fir, 
hemlock,  cedar,  balsam,  and  many  other  varie- 
ties. 


194  To   California  and  Alaska. 

At  Craigellachie,  twenty-eight  miles  from 
Revelstoke,  the  last  spike  was  driven  in  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  on  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, 1885,  the  railroads  from  the  east  and 
west  meeting  here.  At  Sicamous,  situated  on 
the  great  Shuswap  lakes,  we  reached  what  is 
said  to  be  the  centre  of  one  of  the  best  sport- 
ing regions  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  line. 
Northward,  within  a  day's  journey,  caribou 
are  said  to  be  very  abundant.  Within  thirty 
miles  to  the  south  the  deer-shooting  is  prob- 
ably unequalled  on  this  continent,  and  the 
lakes  are  celebrated   for  their  lartre  trout. 

The  London  Times  has  well  described  this 
part  of  the  line:  "The  Eagle  River  leads  us 
down  to  the  Great  Shuswap  Lake,  so  named 
from  the  Indian  tribe  that  lived  on  its  banks, 
and  who  still  have  a  '  reserve '  there.  This  is  a 
most  remarkable  body  of  water.  It  lies  among 
the  mountain  ridges,  and  consequently  extends 
its  lonof  narrow  arms  along-  the  interveninof 
valleys  like  a  huge  octopus  in  half-a-dozen  di- 
rections. These  arms  are  many  miles  long, 
and  vary  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  two  or 
three  miles  in  breadth,  and  their  high,  bold 
shores,  fringed  by  the  little  narrow  beach  of 
sand   and   pebbles,  with   alternating   bays  and 


Mountains  and  Gorges. 


195 


capes,  give  beautiful  views.  The  railway  crosses 
one  of  these  arms  by  a  drawbridge  at  Sica- 
mous  Narrows,  and  then  goes  for  a  long  dis- 
tance along  the  southern  shores  of  the  lake, 
running  entirely  around  the  end  of  the  Salmon 
arm."  Sicamous  is  the  station  for  the  Spal- 
lumsheen  mining  district  and  other  regions  up 


rA%\N<^     L4Kt 


the  river  and  around  Okanagan  Lake,  where 
there  is  a  large  setlement ;  steamboats  ascend 
the  river  thirty  miles,  and  a  railway  is  pro- 
posed. "  For  fifty  miles  the  line  winds  in  and 
out  the  bending  shores,  while  geese  and  clucks 
fly  over  the  waters,  and  light  and  shadow  play 


196  To    California  and  Alaska. 

upon  the  opposite  banks.  This  lake,  with  its 
bordering  slopes,  gives  a  fine  reminder  of  Scot- 
tish scenery.  The  railway  in  getting  around 
it  leads  at  different  and  many  times  towards 
every  one  of  the  thirty-two  points  of  the  com- 
pass. Leaving  the  Salmon  arm  of  the  lake 
rather  than  eo  a  circuitous  course  around  the 
mountains  to  reach  the  southwestern  arm,  the 
line  strikes  through  the  forest  over  the  top  of 
the  intervening  ridge  [Notch  Hill].  We  come 
out  at  some  600  feet  elevation  above  this  '  arm,* 
and  eet  a  maenificent  view  across  the  lake,  its 
winding  shores  on  both  sides  of  the  long  and 
narrow  sheet  of  water  stretchinor  far  on  either 
hand,  with  high  mountain  ridges  for  the  oppo- 
site background.  The  line  gradually  runs 
downhill  until  it  reaches  the  level  of  the  water, 
but  here  it  has  passed  the  lake,  which  has  nar- 
rowed into  the  [south  branch  of  the]  Thomp- 
son River.  Then  the  valley  broadens,  and  the 
eye,  that  has  been  so  accustomed  to  rocks  and 
roughness  and  the  uninhabited  desolation  of 
the  mountains,  is  gladdened  by  the  sight  of 
grass,  fenced  fields,  growing  crops,  hay-stacks, 
and  good  farm-houses  on  the  level  surface, 
while  herds  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  roam 
over  the  valley  and  bordering  hills  in  large 
numbers.      This  is  a  ranching  country,  extend- 


Mountains  and  Gorges. 


197 


ing  far  into  the  mountain  valleys  west  of  the 
Gold  Range  on  both  sides  of  the  railway,  and 
is  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  British  Columbia. 
.  .  ,  The  people  are  comparatively  old  set- 
tlers, having  come  in  from  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  it  does  one's  heart  oood,  after  havine 
passed  the  rude  little  cabins  and  huts  of  the 
plains  and  mountains,  to  see  their  neat  and 
trim  cottages,  with  the  evidences  of  thrift  that 
are  all  around." 

Many  of  our  party  compared  the  scenery 
around  Shuswap  Lake  to  the  country  about 
Lake  George,  but  the  landscape  in  the  former 
locality  is  on  a  very  much  larger  and  grander 
scale. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


FROM  KAMLOOPS  TO   VANCOUVER. 


We  remained  at  Kamloops  one  night,  that 
being  a  divisional  point,  and  after  changing 
engines  early  in  the  mornintr  we  started  for 
Vancouver. 

Kamloops  now  has  a  population  of  about 
one  thousand.  It  was  settled  years  ago  as  a 
Hudson  Bay  post,  and  is  the  principal  town  in 
the  Thompson  River  valley,  and  the  largest 
that  the  traveller  passes  through  until  he  arrives 
at  Vancouver.  The  Thompson  River  is  seen 
here  ;  many  steamboats  ply  up  and  down  the 
stream,  and  we  noticed  a  number  of  saw-mills 
along  the  shore.  The  Chinese  are  largely  em- 
ployed here  to  do  the  rougher  sort  of  work. 
The  grazing  on  the  hills  in  the  background 
is  said  to  be  very  fine.  Cattle  are  left  out-of- 
doors  all  winter,  the  climate  being  very  much 
milder  than  it  is  two  or  three  hundred  miles 

198 


From  Kaviloops  to  Vancouver.  r  99 

westward.  Kamloops  is  the  supply  point  for 
the  large  ranching  and  mineral  country  to  the 
south,  which  is  reached  by  stage  lines  running 
semi-weekly  from  the  town  into  the  districts 
beyond. 

Just  after  leaving  Kamloops  the  river  widens 
and  forms  Kamloops  Lake.  The  railroad 
crosses  to  the  southern  shore,  now  entering  a 
tunnel,  now  passing  over  a  trestle,  in  a  way  to 
remind  the  traveller  very  much  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  road  on  the  west  shore  of 
Lake  Champlain.  As  the  lake  narrows  into 
the  river  the  railroad  enters  a  series  of  tunnels. 
From  this  point  to  Port  Moody  on  the  Pacific 
coast  the  road  was  built  by  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment and  transferred  to  the  railway  com- 
pany in  1886.  While  the  road-bed  of  this  sec- 
tion is  very  well  built,  the  sides  and  slopes  of  the 
same  are  not  full)'  protected,  and  the  company 
are  constantly  troubled  with  landslides  from 
above,  and  the  sinking  of  the  track  from  below, 
owing  to  the  "quicksandy"  nature  of  the  soil. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  claim 
a  million  dollars  or  more  from  the  orovernment 
in  order  to  make  this  portion  of  the  road  equal 
to  the  rest  of  their  line.  It  certainly  did  ap- 
pear to    our  party  as  a  very  inferior  kind   of 


200  To   California  and  Alaska. 

work  compared  with  what  we  had  seen  on  the 
part  of  the  Hne  we  had  travelled  over.  The 
scenery  on  this  portion  of  the  road  and  along 
the  Thompson  River  is  at  first  very  wild  and 
picturesque,  but  soon  becomes  exceedingly  un- 
interesting. There  is  very  little  vegetation  to 
be  seen  on  either  side  of  the  river — nothing, 
in  fact,  but  round-topped,  treeless,  and  water- 
cut  hills,  the  color  of  which  varies  from  the 
richest  yellow  to  a  reddish-gray,  or  iron-ore, 
with  here  and  there  a  few  masses  of  olive-iireen 
color,  caused  by  the  scanty  vegetation.  Shortly 
after  leaving  Kamloops  Lake,  as  the  train  went 
round  a  curve,  where  the  bank  overhung  the 
track,  and  we  were  all  standing  on  the  plat- 
form, we  were  suddenly  startled  by  a  large 
bird  which  alighted  near  to  us,  and  settled  on 
the  railing  of  the  platform.  We  were  so  sur- 
prised that,  for  a  few  moments,  we  did  not 
realize  what  it  was  ;  it  proved  to  be  a  large 
partridge.  Had  any  of  us  been  quick  enough 
we  might  have  caught  it  without  any  trouble  ; 
as  it  was,  when  we  attempted  to  catch  it,  it 
fiew  off  Into  the  brush.  We  stopped  the  train, 
and  getting  our  shot-guns  started  in  pursuit, 
thinkinof  that  there  mieht  be  other  eame  in  the 
neighborhood,  which  would  have  proved  a  very 


From  Kamloops  to  Va^icouvcr.  201 

palatable  addition  to  our  larder.  We  had  no 
success,  however,  though  the  little  incident 
afforded  us  considerable  diversion. 

At  Lytton,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Thomp- 
son and  Fraser  rivers,  the  scenery  is  very 
errand.  Six  miles  below  here  our  train  crossed 
the  Fraser  River,  a  steel  cantilever  bridge 
being  at  that  point.  The  scenery  here  be- 
came wilder  as  the  gorge  deepened  and  the 
size  of  the  river  increased.  The  banks  were 
steep  and  rugged,  their  tops  covered  with  a 
dense  growth  of  trees.  The  old  government 
road  continues  along  the  Fraser  River,  twist- 
ing and  turning  about,  now  passing  under  the 
railroad,  then  along  by  its  side,  sometimes 
many  hundred  feet  above  the  road  until,  at 
Cisco,  it  is  forced  to  the  height  of  over  one 
thousand  feet  above  the  river.  It  is  said  that 
the  width  of  the  road  here  is  not  sufficient 
to  allow  two  teams  to  pass,  and  that  it  is  held 
in  place  by  iron  rods,  or  bridge-trusses,  in- 
serted in  the  mountain  side. 

Mr.  Marpole  informed  us  that  it  was  not 
uncommon  to  see  Indians  on  the  projecting 
rocks  down  at  the  water's  edge  spearing 
salmon,  or  capturing  them  with  scoop-nets  ; 
the   salmon   are   dried   on   poles  and   sold  to 


202  To    California  and  Alaska. 

Chinamen.  Along  the  river  on  the  sandy- 
channel  piers  Chinamen  and  Indians  are  occa- 
sionally seen  washing  for  gold,  and  many 
of  the  inhabitants  on  the  banks  of  the  stream 
eain  their  subsistence  from  what  little  crold 
they  find  in  washing  the  gravel.  They  are  a 
lazy,  thriftless  class  of  people,  washing  for 
gold  two  or  three  days  in  the  week,  and 
living  on  the  proceeds  for  the  remainder  of 
the  time. 

This  road  was  originally  built  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  Columbia  for  the  convenience  of 
miners  above  Lytton,  where  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  gold  were  originally  taken  out  by 
washing.  At  North  Bend  we  stopped  to 
change  engines,  and  all  the  party  got  off  the 
train  and  visited  the  hotel,  which  is  owned  by 
the  railroad  company  ;  here  we  saw  another 
tame  brown  Canadian  bear,  which  afforded 
the  children  ereat  amusement.  Durinor  the 
day  we  stopped  the  train  at  many  points 
along  the  Fraser  River,  where  the  line  crosses 
large  canyons,  on  trestles.  The  scenery  from 
North  Bend  to  Yale,  twenty-six  miles,  has 
been  described  as  not  only  intensely  inter- 
esting, but  startling,  even  "  ferocious."  The 
volume  of  water  in  the  river  being  so  large, 


Fro7ii  Kaniloops  to  J  Vancouver.  203 


and  the  walls  at   the  sides  coming  out  close 
tocrether,    the    stream    is    compressed    into    a 


roannof  torrent. 


At  Spuzzum  the  government  road  crosses 
the  chasm  by  a  suspension  bridge,  at  the  side 


I. 


of  the  railway 
b  r  i  d  Of  e  ,  and 
keeps  close  to 
it  all  the  way 
f-^'fh^^^r  to  Yale.  Here 
the  railroad  runs  through  a  series  of  five  or 
six  tunnels. 

It  should  be  stated  that  this  government 
road  has  been  rendered  almost  absolutely 
valueless  for  wagons,  from  the  fact  that, 
wherever  the  railroad  crosses  it,  no  means 
have  been  provided  for  passing  the  road, 
either  above  or  around  the  railway ;  pack- 
trains  can  now  cross,  but  they  are  compelled 


204  To    California  and  Alaska. 

to  climb   steep   trails  in    order  to  get  around 
these  places. 

Yale  is  at  the  head    of    navio-ation   on   the 

o 

Fraser  River.  At  New  Westminster  Junction 
there  is  a  branch  line  to  the  important  town  of 
New  Westminster,  a  town  of  some  five  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  on  the  Fraser  River,  about 
eight  miles  distant.  When  we  passed  through 
here,  this  road  was  being  constructed  to  Seattle, 
and  it  was  expected  that  before  long  through 
connection  by  rail  could  be  had  with  that  town. 
We  reached  Port  Moody,  at  the  head  of 
Burrard  Inlet,  about  two  o'clock  on  the  after- 
noon of  May  17th.  At  one  time  this  was  the 
last  station  of  the  railroad,  and,  on  that  account, 
was  quite  a  settlement  ;  but  it  is  now  very 
much  dilapidated  and  run  down,  owing  to  the 
terminus  havlnof  been  removed  to  Vancouver. 
As  the  railroad  sweeps  down  here  to  the  shore, 
we  could  once  more  see  the  Pacific  coast  and 
salt  water,  an  outlook  which  was  truly  refresh- 
ing- after  such  a  continuous  stretch  of  mountain 
scenery.  Snow-tipped  mountains  were  to  be 
seen  on  the  other  side  of  the  inlet,  beautiful 
in  outline  and  color,  especially  so  on  the  after- 
noon when  we  saw  them  in  the  sunlight.  Here 
and  there,  at  Intervals,  on  the  opposite  coast, 


From  Kandoops  to  Vancouver.  205 


saw-mills  and  villao-es  were  to  be  seen.  At 
one  or  two  of  the  villages  there  were  ocean 
steam-ships  at  the  wharves  being  loaded  with 


^^ 


M? 


'^^-t:^^' 


../\\  ^T#  '.^v',^- 


fe 


f* 


;^e^  s 


C-P7?^ 


the  celebrated  Douglas  fir,  which  is  sent  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  These  trees  are  found 
twenty,  thirty,  and  even  forty  feet  in  circum- 
ference. 

Our  speed  on  this  particular  day  was  neces- 
sarily slow,  owing  to  the  fact  that  this  section 
of  the  road  is  considered  very  dangerous,  and 


?o6  To    California  and  Alaska. 

is  about  tlie  only  part  on  which  any  accidents 
ever  occur  ;  at  one  moment  the  road-bed  over- 
hangs the  river,  on  trestle-work  or  embankment, 
and  the  next  moment  enters  a  short  tunnel, 
only  to  reappear  again  on  another  trestle. 

After  our  arrival  at  Vancouver,  Mr.  Harry 
Abbott,  the  General  Superintendent  of  the 
western  end  of  the  road,  called  upon  us  with 
his  wife,  and  extended  to  us  the  courtesies  of 
the  road  at  this  terminus. 

On  the  morningf  after  our  arrival  we  took 
a  carriap'e  and  drove  over  the  town,  oroingr 
through  the  new  park,  which  promises  some 
day  to  be  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  coast. 
The  trees  here  are  enormous,  and  the  growth 
might  be  called  a  primeval  forest,  which  it 
really  is,  with  the  underbrush  taken  out. 

Vancouver,  the  Pacific  terminus  of  the  rail- 
way, is  comparatively  a  new  town,  and  reminds 
one  of  the  orrowth  of  such  Western  towns  as 
Duluth  or  Great  Falls.  Until  May,  1886,  its 
present  site  was  covered  with  a  dense  forest. 
The  following  July  a  severe  fire  swept  away 
every  house  in  the  place  but  one  ;  all  the  build- 
in^Ts  now  standing  have  been  erected  since  that 
date.  The  hotels,  business  blocks,  and  resi- 
dences are  of  the  most  approved  architecture, 


KOADWAY    IN    STANLEY    PARK,    VANCOUVER. 


Front  Kamloops  to  Wincoiiver.  207 

and  would  be  a  credit  to  any  city  In  the  United 
States.  Laree  and  extensive  wharves  have 
been  built  by  the  railroad  company  and  private 
corporations,  and  the  town  promises  to  de- 
velop Into  one  of  the  future  cities  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  The  paved  streets  are  well  laid 
out,  and  lighted  with  electricity.  A  plentiful 
supply  of  pure  water  Is  brought  through  large 
pipes,  laid  across  the  harbor,  from  a  spring  In 
the  mountains  on  the  other  side  of  the  sound. 
The  country  to  the  south  of  Vancouver  has 
many  fine  farms,  and  Is  said  to  be  well  adapted 
to  fruit-growing.  Many  parties  remain  here 
for  the  shootlno-  and  fishlncr  both  of  which  are 
excellent,  and  can  be  had  by  making  short  ex- 
cursions into  the  mountains  towards  the  north. 
A  reofular  line  of  steamers  leaves  Vancouver 
every  day  for  Victoria,  fortnightly  for  Japan, 
Yokohama,  and  Hong-Kong,  and  twice  a  week 
for  Seattle,  Tacoma,  and  other  Puget  Sound 
ports.  The  city  Is  beautifully  located  on  a 
slight  eminence,  overlooking  the  sound,  with 
Burrard  Inlet  on  the  north. 

About  one  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  May 
1 8th,  the  Islander y  which  had  been  engaged 
for  our  party,  steamed  into  the  harbor,  having 
just  come  from  Victoria  In  the  morning.     This 


2o8  To   California  and  Alaska. 

vessel  was  a  twin  propeller  boat,  two  hundred 
and  forty  feet  in  length,  forty-two  feet  beam, 
and  sixteen  feet  draught,  with  tremendous 
power,  and  was  capable  of  making  about  nine- 
teen miles  an  hour.  Captain  John  Irving,  the 
manager  of  the  line,  had  charge  of  the  vessel, 
and  our  pilot  for  Alaskan  waters  was  the 
veteran  Captain  Carroll,  the  most  celebrated 
pilot  on  the  Pacific  coast,  who  was  one  of  the 
pioneers,  and  had  made  one  hundred  and 
seventy  trips  to  Alaska.  He  had  become 
very  wealthy,  and  was  largely  interested  in 
mines,  etc.  We  had  also  a  very  old  pilot,  an 
employe  of  the  steamship  company  ;  from  the 
nautical  point  of  view  we  considered  ourselves 
very  well  provided  for.  The  accommodations 
for  passengers  were  ample  ;  the  boat  had  about 
one  hundred  state-rooms,  the  manager's  room 
being  large  and  roomy,  and  the  other  apart- 
ments very  comfortable. 

The  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  was  occu- 
pied in  placing  our  baggage  aboard  and  in 
getting  thoroughly  and  comfortably  settled. 
About  half-past  four  o'clock  we  cast  off  from 
the  wharf  and  started  on  our  trip  to  Alaska. 
The  weather  was  all  that  could  be  desired, 
neither   too   warm    nor    too    cold,   bright  and 


Froju  Kaniloops  to  I  aucouvcr.  209 

sunny,  and  a  fair  omen  of  the  journey  we  were 

about  to  make. 

We  took  the   cooks   and  stewards  with  us, 

and   left   the   rest   of   the    crew   on    the   train. 

The  weather  was  so  fme  that  we  were  able  to 

sit  on  the  upper  deck  until  dinner-time  and  at 

ten  o'clock  at  nio^ht  it  was  lio-ht  enough  for  us 

to   read   a  newspaper  on  deck.      The  view  of 

Mount  Baker,  with   its  snow-capped  peak,  in 

the  distance  about  sunset,  was  magnificent. 
14 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


IN  ALASKAN  WATERS. 


On  the  niorht  of  the  iSth  we  sailed  throueh 
Discovery  Passage,  where  at  places  there  is 
hardly  room  for  two  steamers  to  pass  each 
other,  and  mountains  rise  up  abruptly  on  each 
side.  At  half-past  nine  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th  we  reached  Alert  Bay,  and  from  there 
steamed  on  northward,  passing  the  north  end 
of  Vancouver  Island,  out  into  Oueen  Charlotte 
Sound,  Although  the  wind  was  blowing 
lightly  at  the  time  there  was  quite  a  heavy 
swell  ;  it  took  us  only  two  hours,  however,  to 
Sfo  across.  We  then  entered  Fitzhueh  Sound, 
passing  Calvert  Island  and  Hunt  Islands.  On 
reaching  the  end  of  the  channel  we  left  Burke 
Channel  on  our  ricrht,  and  went  throuo-h  the 
Lama  Passage,  passing  between  Campbell  and 
Lendenny  islands,  where  the  scenery  was  very 
fine. 


210 


o 
< 

oi 
O 
X 
u 

2 

< 


< 
Z 


o 

3i 


z 

o 

z 

ai 
> 


z 

a 
z 


In  Alaskaii  Waters.  211 

About  a  quarter  before  six  we  arrived  at 
Bella  Bella  and  anchored  for  the  night  ;  this 
is  a  small  fishing  village  on  Campbell  Island. 
The  scenery  here  was  remarkably  grand  and 
bold,  the  passage,  in  many  places,  not  being 
an  eiehth  of  a  mile  wide,  thouo-h  the  water 
reaches  a  depth  of  from  one  hundred  and 
thirty-one  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms. 
After  supper  one  of  the  quarter  boats  was 
lowered  and  Dr.  McLane,  with  two  or  three 
of  our  party,  went  ashore  to  call  on  the  agent 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  mis- 
sionary. We  found  that  the  agent  was  absent 
at  Vancouver  and  the  missionary  was  making 
a  visit  to  the  interior.  Bella  Bella  consists  of 
some  forty  or  fifty  log-huts  occupied  by  In- 
dians, who  gain  their  subsistence  principally 
by  fishing.  We  were  informed  that  most 
of  the  male  inhabitants  were  at  work  at  the 
canneries,  and  there  were  not  over  five  or  six 
men  remaining  in  the  village. 

While  crossinof  Milbank  Sound  the  next 
morning,  we  felt  the  motion  of  the  sea  quite 
considerably.  It  commenced  raining  in  the 
morning  and  rained  nearly  all  day.  Passing 
north  of  Milbank  Sound  we  took  the  western 
passage    between   Swindle  and   Cone  islands. 


212  To    California  and  Alaska. 

passing  nearly  through  Tohiiine  Channel, 
Graham  Reach,  Fraser  Reach,  leaving  Prin- 
cess Royal  Island  on  our  left.  Nearly  all  the 
morning,  on  our  right,  we  passed  large  water 
passages,  or  reaches,  up  which  we  could  look 
many  miles  and  see  that  they  were  lined  on 
either  side  by  very  high  and  precipitous  moun- 
tains, perhaps  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart. 
All  the  information  the  captain  could  give  us 
about  these  narrow  waters  was  that  they  were 
unexplored,  and  there  was  no  telling  how  far 
inland  they  might  extend. 

Passing  through  McKay  Reach,  we  entered 
Wrifjht  Sound.  On  our  rieht  were  Dou^^las 
Channel  and  Verney  Passage ;  both  these 
waters  have  been  somewhat  explored,  and  ex- 
tend for  many  miles  back  into  the  country. 
The  mountains  on  both  sides  of  these  passages 
are,  according  to  the  government  chart,  from 
three  to  five  thousand  feet  high,  but,  in  point 
of  fact,  many  of  these  waters  hav^e  not  been 
explored  to  any  great  distance. 

Sailing  from  Wright  Sound  and  going  north, 
we  passed  through  Grenville  Channel,  leaving 
Pitt  Island  on  our  left  and  the  Countess  of 
Dufferin  ranee  of  mountains  on  our  rieht. 
The  mountains  on  each  side  of  this  channel 


Ill  Alaskan  ]Vaters.  2  1 3 

are  about  three  thousand  feet  high,  and  are 
very  heavily  timbered  with  evergreens.  The 
scenery  was  picturesque  in  the  extreme. 

In  the  afternoon  we  passed  through  the 
Arthur  Passage  (Kennedy  Island  being  on  our 
right),  and  through  Chatham  Sound.  As  we 
passed  through  the  sound  the  weather  com- 
menced to  clear,  and  before  long  the  sun  came 
out.  Bearing  to  our  right  we  arrived  at  Port 
Simpson  at  half-past  six  o'clock.  This  is  a 
Hudson  Bay  post,  the  last  English  post  before 
entering  Alaska,  and  we  found  it  to  be  one  of 
the  most  interestinof  we  had  seen  for  some  time. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Company's  agent,  whom  we 
met,  was  a  very  genial  person  ;  he  invited  us 
up  to  the  company's  store,  and  showed  us  all 
over  the  premises.  The  main  store  is  built  of 
logs,  and  was  constructed  some  sixty  years 
ago  ;  part  of  the  old  stockade  is  still  standing, 
and  on  one  corner  of  it,  up  in  the  air,  is  one  of 
the  old  turrets,  the  sides  having  slits  for  mus- 
ketry, which  were  to  be  used  by  the  occupants 
to  defend  themselves  aofainst  the  Indians. 
The  old  powder  magazine  was  built  of  stone, 
and  is  now  used  by  the  Hudson  Bay  officer  for 
a  dairy. 

The   agent   had   all    sorts   of    goods    in    his 


2  14  To    California  and  Alaska. 

store.  We  bought  some  Winchester  rifle  car- 
tridges, of  which  we  were  a  httle  short,  and 
some  very  old-fashioned  spoons  carved  out  of 
horn.  We  looked  over  a  stock  of  skins  and 
furs,  but  did  not  buy  any.  The  steward  took 
this  opportunity  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  fresh 
milk  and  eggs. 

The  atrent  told  us  that  the  climate  in  this 
section  is  exceedingly  agreeable  throughout 
the  year,  although  the  place  is  in  the  latitude 
of  54°  35' ;  he  said  that  the  flowers  in  his  gar- 
den blossomed  in  January.  Everything  sur- 
rounding the  company's  store  was  in  the  most 
admirable  order ;  the  stockade  and  buildings 
were  all  neatly  whitewashed,  the  grass  care- 
fully trimmed,  and  the  walks  free  from  weeds. 
At  onetime  Port  Simpson  was  one  of  the  most 
important  posts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
but  of  late  years  it  has  become  a  very  insignifi- 
cant place.  The  Indian  village  outside  of  the 
walls  of  the  post  is  very  small,  and  in  a  very 
poor  and  needy  condition. 

The  prices  paid  for  furs  by  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  are,  of  course,  higher  now  than  they 
were  some  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  and  the 
profits  on  them  are  very  much  less.  On  the 
other  hand,  it   must  be  taken   into  considera- 


In  Alaskan  IVaters.  2  1 5 

tion  that  it  was  formerly  necessary  to  keep  at 
least  six  or  ten  armed  men  here  all  the  time  to 
defend  the  post  against  the  Indians  ;  and  fur- 
ther, that  supplies  can  be  landed  here  now  at 
one  tenth  of  the  price  charged  for  them  thirty 
years  ago.  The  agent  told  us  that  he  thought 
the  company  made  as  much  out  of  the  post  as 
formerly,  owing  to  the  decreased  cost  of  run- 
ning the  station,  which  he  believed  more  than 
offset  the  lower  price  obtained  for  the  furs. 

About  half-past  three  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  May  2 1  St  we  left  Port  Simpson  and 
entered  upon  the  Alaskan  Territory,  passing 
on  our  left  Annette  and  Gravina  islands.  In 
the  afternoon  we  entered  Wrangel  Narrows, 
leaving  on  our  right,  some  thirty  miles  away. 
Fort  Wrangel,  on  Wrangel  Island.  This  was 
one  of  the  prettiest  spots  we  had  yet  seen. 
The  hills  on  either  side  of  the  Narrows  were 
not  so  remarkably  high,  but  the  shores  were 
exceedingly  picturesque,  and  looked  as  though 
they  were  covered  with  a  great  deal  of  vegeta- 
tion. There  is  thick,  rich,  green  grass  on  both 
sides,  above  high-water  mark.  We  saw  here 
a  great  many  ducks  and  geese,  and  a  countless 
number  of  eagles.  After  passing  through 
Wrangel     Narrows,     we     entered     Frederick 


2  1 6  To   Califor?iia  and  Alaska, 

Sound,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  and  on  our 
right  saw,  for  the  first  time,  Patterson's  Glacier, 
and  also  a  lanj^e  amount  of  floatino^  ice.  It 
was  about  dark  when  we  passed  this  glacier. 
No  one  point  in  all  our  journey  through  this 
Sitkan  Archipelago  seemed  invested  by  nature 
with  so  much  ei'andeur  as  Prince  Frederick 
Sound.  Here  the  mountains  of  the  mainland 
run  down  abruptly  to  the  water.  The  scenery 
in  this  wilderness  of  Lower  Alaska  was  cer- 
tainly unique  and  unrivalled.  At  one  time  our 
ship  was  in  a  lake,  at  another  in  a  river,  and 
then  in  a  canal,  with  walls  towering  above  us 
right  and  left  to  an  almost  dizzy  height,  and 
channels  runnino;-  off  into  unknown  and  unex- 
plored  regions.  And  yet,  upon  this  vast  ex- 
panse of  water  a  sail  or  boat  rarely  is  seen. 
There  is  a  deathly  stillness,  interrupted  now 
and  then  by  the  screech  of  an  eagle,  or  the 
flight  of  ducks  frightened  at  the  approach  of 
the  vessel  At  the  head  of  these  channels  are 
countless  ravines  and  canyons  filled  with  gla- 
ciers, from  which  pieces  are  constantly  broken 
every  day.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  five 
thousand  individual  glaciers  in  Alaska,  from 
which,  constantly,  pieces  are  broken  and 
silently  find  their  way  down  to  the  sea. 


In  Alaskan  Waters.  2 1 7 

On  the  morning  of  May  2 2d  we  woke  as 
the  boat  was  about  entering  Peril  Straits,  an 
intricate  part  of  the  waters  to  navigate,  but 
pretty  well  buoyed  out.  The  scenery  from 
here  to  Sitka,  where  we  arrived  about  half-past 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  was  exceedingly 
fine.  This  place,  the  capital  of  Alaska,  is  an 
old  Russian  settlement,  and  was,  at  one  time, 
a  prosperous  and  lively  town  ;  at  present  it  has 
the  appearance  of  a  half-sleepy,  indolent  vil- 
lage, giving  one  the  impression  of  general 
decay.  As  the  boat  nears  the  wharf  a  cluster 
of  buildings  Is  seen  to  the  right ;  the  buildings 
are  the  Castle,  the  Custom-house,  and  Bar- 
racks. This  Castle  of  Barranore  was  once 
celebrated  for  the  lavish  hospitality  of  Its 
occupants, — elegant  dinners  and  extravagant 
balls  ;  to-day  it  is  a  dilapidated-looking  build- 
ing of  large  size.  Notwithstanding  Its  abso- 
lute neglect  and  abandonment  to  decay  and 
ruin,  It  was  so  substantially  built  that  it  will 
be  years  before  it  will  disappear  entirely.  All 
Americans  who  travel  in  this  section  wonder 
why  our  government  does  not  put  It  In  repair, 
and  use  it  for  the  government  headquarters,  as 
such  a  building  is  badly  needed.  The  Castle 
is  one  hundred  and  forty  by  seventy  feet,  and 


2i8  To    California  and  Alaska. 

is  three  stories  high.  As  a  rule,  the  United 
States  keeps  a  war  vessel  here  during  the 
summer  months ;  at  the  time  of  our  visit  she 
was  at  Mare  Island  Navy  Yard  undereoine 
repairs,  and  Lieutenant  Turner  was  in  charge 
of  the  forty  marines,  who  were  temporarily 
located  in  the  old  barracks. 

Alaska  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
United  States  since  October  i8,  1867.  The 
country  was  bought  through  negotiations  car- 
ried on  by  William  H.  Seward,  who  was  at 
that  time  Secretary  of  State.  The  wits  of  the 
period  made  merry  over  the  acquisition,  just 
as  wits  in  former  days  made  m.erry  over  our 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  and  Florida.  Secre- 
tary Seward  justified  his  action  on  the  ground 
of  the  new  country's  natural  wealth  in  timber, 
fisheries,  minerals,  and  fur-bearing  animals ; 
also  on  the  ground  that  it  would  neutralize  the 
power  of  Great  Britain  in  the  North  Pacific 
and  render  the  annexation  of  British  Columbia 
possible  in  the  future.  "  Alaska,"  said  he, 
"  may  not  be  so  valuable  as  we  deem  it  ;  but 
you  cannot  deny  the  value  of  the  gold  regions 
of  the  Cariboo  country  and  Fraser  River,  the 
coal  mines  of  Vancouver's  and  Queen  Char- 
lotte's islands,  and  the  unrestricted  possession 


In  Alaskan  Waters.  219 

of  the  maenlficent  Straits  of  Fuca.  All  these, 
following  manifest  destiny,  will  be  ours  in 
time  ;  besides,"  said  he,  "  we  owe  a  deep  debt 
of  gratitude  to  Russia  for  her  unvarying  friend- 
ship through  long  years,  and  for  her  kindly 
sympathy  during  the  sorest  of  our  national 
trials — the  ereat  rebellion."  The  sum  of 
$7,200,000  was  paid  for  Alaska,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  the  few  mines  near  Juneau  are 
worth  more  than  that  sum  to-day. 

The  Governer  of  Alaska,  Hon.  A.  P.  Swine- 
ford,  has  made  interesting  reports  in  regard  to 
the  resources  and  prospects  of  this  new  and 
remarkable  country.  He  says  that  two  years 
ago  the  population  was  estimated  at  about  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants  ;  of  this  number  thirty- 
five  thousand  were  classed  as  wholly  uncivilized. 
Very  little  has  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of 
agricultural  development.  Here  and  there  a 
ranch  has  been  started  for  the  orrowingf  of  root- 
crops,  while  in  nearly  all  the  settlements  vege- 
table gardens  are  maintained  with  very  little 
labor.  There  are  larg-e  areas  of  excellent 
grazing  lands  in  the  Territory,  but  very  little 
has  been  done  in  the  way  of  stock-raising.  At 
nearly  all  the  settlements  on  the  Kodiak 
Islands  and  in  Cook's  Inlet  white  and  creole 


2  20  To    California  and  Alaska. 

people  keep  cows  and  make  their  own  butter ; 
the  Governor  sees  no  reason,  except  the  ab- 
sence of  a  market,  why  Alaska  might  not  rival 
Montana  or  Wyoming  in  the  raising  of  stock. 
The  great  island  of  Kodiak  comprises  a  geo- 
graphical area  of  about  five  thousand  square 
miles.  Considerable  progress  has  been  made 
in  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of 
the  Territory,  There  is  a  large  stamp-mill  on 
Douglas  Island,  the  largest  plant  of  the  kind 
in  the  world,  its  output  of  gold  bullion  being 
estimated  at  not  less  than  $150,000  per  month. 
New  discoveries  of  valuable  mines  are  con- 
stantly being  made,  especially  in  Southeastern 
Alaska. 

It  is  pretty  well  established  that  other  min- 
erals besides  gold  and  silver  are  abundant  in 
various  parts  of  the  Territory.  A  large  vein 
of  very  rich  copper  ore  has  been  found  on 
Kodiak  Island,  and  large  bodies  of  the  same 
metal  in  its  native  state  are  known  to  exist  on 
Copper  River.  Petroleum  is  found  in  differ- 
ent sections,  while  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales, 
the  most  westerly  point  of  the  continent,  there 
is  a  plentiful  supply  of  graphite  in  the  adjoin- 
ing mountains.  Amber  exists  In  large  quanti- 
ties, and  sulphur  is  found  in  connection  with 


In  Alaskan  ]Vatei^s.  221 

the  numerous  volcanic  peaks  and  extinct 
craters.  Discoveries  of  iron,  cinnabar,  and 
mica  are  recorded.  Marble  abounds  ;  there  is 
every  evidence  of  the  existence  of  valuable 
slate  beds ;  fire-clay  is  found  In  connection 
with  the  coal  seams ;  and  kaolin  is  among  the 
discoveries  reported.  There  is  said  to  be  coal 
enough  in  Alaska,  and  of  the  very  best  quality, 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  whole  of  the  Pacific 
slope  for  centuries,  and  it  is  prophesied  that 
the  time  will  soon  come  when  the  product  of 
her  mines  will  find  other  and  wider  markets 
than  those  of  the  Pacific  coast  alone.  There 
are  vast  forests  of  valuable  timber  in  the  back 
country,  but  there  are  not  more  than  half-a- 
dozen  saw-mills  engaged  in  cutting  lumber,  and 
they  only  partially  supply  the  local  demand. 

The  fisheries  of  Alaska  form  an  important 
industry.  There  are  seventeen  salmon  can- 
neries In  operation,  some  of  them  very  large 
establishments,  and  nearly  all  having  salting 
houses  In  connection.  The  codfishing  fieet  is 
steadily  Increasing,  and  halibut  Is  being  sent 
to  Eastern  cities  In  refrigerator  cars.  In  1888 
twelve  thousand  tons  of  salmon  were  pre- 
pared for  the  market.  The  fur  trade  is  also 
an  Important  industry. 


2  22  To   California  and  Alask 


a. 


There  are  thirteen  pubh'c  schools  in  the 
Territory,  located  respectively  at  the  principal 
towns,  and  the  Industrial  Training  School  at 
Sitka  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  though 
not  accomplishing,  it  is  said,  all  that  might 
reasonably  be  expected ;  the  boys  are  taught 
carpentry  and  cabinet-,  boot-,  and  shoe-making, 
while  the  girls  are  instructed  in  housekeeping, 
sewinor  knittingr   cookino-,  and  dressmaking. 

The  average  rainfall  in  Sitka  and  its  imme- 
diate neighborhood  is  about  forty-eight  inches; 
about  one  third  of  the  year  there  is  no  rain. 
The  weather  is  not  very  cold  in  winter,  the 
thermometer  rarely  reaching  zero  on  the  coast. 
The  mean  temperature  for  the  year  is  about 
forty-four  degrees.  January  and  February  have 
the  lowest  record — 29°  2'  ;  August  highest — 
56°  4'.  Ice  rarely  forms  to  a  thickness  of  six 
inches,  and  yet  in  summer  the  weather  is  not 
warm  enough  to  ripen  any  grain.  The  months 
of  June  and  July  are  generally  clear,  dry,  and 
free  from  rain.  The  fall  and  spring  are  the 
rainy  seasons.  The  comparatively  mild  tem- 
perature in  this  high  latitude  is  accounted  for 
by  the  existence  of  a  great  current  of  warm 
water,  resembling  our  Gulf  Stream,  which, 
sweeping  along  the  coasts  of  Japan  and  Asia 


In  Alaskan  Waters.  223 

to  the  northeast,  crosses  the  Pacific,  and 
washes  the  northwest  coast  of  America  as  far 
down  as  the  Bay  of  Panama,  where  it  again 
diverges  to  the  westward  and  forms  the  ereat 
equatorial  current  of  the  Pacific. 

At  the  head  of  Cross  Sound  are  five  larg-e 
o^laciers  that  are  formed  far  back  in  the  coun- 
try  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Fairweather  and 
Mount  Crillon,  the  former,  14,708  feet  high, 
the  latter  13,400. 

The  remarkable  indentation  and  almost  end- 
less length  of  this  coast,  the  thousand  islands, 
the  immense  number  of  mountains,  large  and 
small,  the  maze  of  rivers  through  which  the 
traveller  passes,  make  this  journey  incom- 
parable with  any  other  which  could  be  made. 
We  had  often  heard  about  the  wonders  of  a 
trip  to  Alaska,  but  were  more  than  surprised 
at  the  remarkable  character  of  the  scenery  we 
saw,  especially  the  water-ways,  which  the  writer 
has  deemed  worthy  of  being  so  fully  described. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


IN  ALASKAN  WATERS  (Concludec 


'■ij. 


Probably  the  most  interestlno-  feature  of 
life  in  the  vicinity  of  Sitka  is  the  Indian  vil- 
lage a  short  distance  outside  of  the  town  ; 
Lieutenant  J.  E.  Turner  was  kind  enough  to 
show  our  party  through  this  settlement,  which 
was  certainly  very  unique. 

After  enterlnof  an  old  orate  we  turned  to  the 
left  and  passed  in  front  of  a  long  row  of  cheaply 
built  houses  fronting  on  the  beach,  the  canoes 
and  fishing  paraphernalia  belonging  to  each  hut 
being  drawn  up  on  the  beach  in  front  thereof. 
Each  house  is  numbered,  and  the  village  is 
under  the  strict  surveillance  of  an  officer  of 
the  Navy.  As  we  had  found  at  Bella  Bella, 
most  of  the  Indians  were  off  fishing  or  en- 
ofaeed  in  work  at  the  canneries  ;  in  the  winter, 
when  they  are  all  at  home,  the  population 
numbers  about  eight  hundred,  and  the  town 
then  presents  quite  a  lively  appearance. 


224 


Ill  Alaskan  Waters. 


225 


It  may  be  well  to  mention  here  a  certain 
peculiar  kind  of  fish  which  is  quite  plentiful 
in  Alaskan  waters  ;  it  is  called  the  candle-fish, 
and  is  about  the  size  of  a  smelt,  which  it  re- 
sembles in  appearance,  being  small  and  having 


x^--^ ...  ^-  ^::i^^ 


>^ 


bright  silvery  skin  and  scales.  It  is  caught 
by  the  Indians  on  bright  moonlight  nights. 
They  use  for  this  purpose  a  large  rake,  some 
six  or  seven  feet  long,  with  teeth  of  bone  or 
sharp-pointed  nails.  This  rake  has  a  handle, 
and  while  one  Indian  paddles  the  canoe  close 
to  the  "  shoal  of  fish,"  the  other  sweeps  the 
rake  through  the  dense  mass,  bringing  up  gen- 
15 


2  26  To   Calif 07'jiia  and  Alaska. 

erally  three  or  four  fish  impaled  on  each  tooth 
of  the  rake.  The  canoes  are  soon  filled,  and 
the  contents  being  taken  on  shore,  the  squaws 
proceed  to  skewer  the  fish  on  long  sticks, 
passing  these  sticks  through  the  eyes  until 
each  one  has  as  many  as  it  will  hold,  when 
the  whole  are  suspended  in  the  thick,  smoky 
atmosphere  at  the  top  of  the  hut,  which  dries 
and  preserves  the  fish  without  salt,  which  is 
never  used  by  the   Indians. 

When  dry,  the  candle-fish  are  carefully 
packed  away  in  boxes  of  dried  bark.  The 
traders  of  Port  Simpson  catch  these  fish  in 
nets,  salt  and  dry  them  in  the  usual  manner 
practised  by  the  whites  ;  and  when  this  is 
properly  done  no  fish  are  more  delicious  than 
the  candle-fish,  the  only  trouble  being  that 
they  are  so  rich  that  one  soon  tires  of  them. 

To  use  them  as  candles,  a  piece  of  wick  or 
dried  pith  is  passed  through  the  fish  with  a  bod- 
kin of  hardwood,  and  the  tail  being  inserted  in 
a  cleft-stick  or  junk-bottle,  the  wick  is  lighted. 
The  fish  burns  with  a  clear,  steady  flame. 

In  point  of  wealth  and  power,  after  a  few 
Indian  chiefs,  the  most  important  person  in 
the  village  is  Mrs.  Tom,  a  woman  of  orreat  im- 
portance    and    influence    among    the    natives. 


INDIAN   chief's   GRAVE,    ALASKA. 


In  Alaskan  Waters.  227 

She  is  worth  about  $40,000,  and,  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country  at  least,  is  considered  a 
wealthy  woman.  We  made  her  a  visit,  and 
found  her  not  only  willing  to  exhibit  to  us  her 
large  collection  of  curiosities,  but  anxious  to 
part  with  many  of  them  for  a  proper  pecuniary 
consideration.  Her  house  consists  of  three 
rooms,  one  of  them  very  large.  At  the  time 
Lieutenant  Turner  and  our  party  made  our 
visit  she  was  not  presentable,  but  called  out 
to  us  that  we  should  amuse  ourselves  by  look- 
ing over  her  furs  until  she  could  prepare  her 
toilet.  She  was  not  long  in  making  her  ap- 
pearance, when  she  opened  her  trunks,  searched 
in  various  recesses,  and  brought  forth  any  num- 
ber of  trinkets  and  curious  articles,  which  she 
offered  for  sale.  We  made  a  number  of  pur- 
chases, including  some  very  fine  otter  skins 
and  a  Chilcot  blanket.  We  were  told  that  she 
left  the  settlement  for  the  Aleutian  Islands 
every  year  in  a  large  boat  well  stocked  with 
provisions  and  articles  that  she  knows  will  be 
appreciated  by  the  Indians  ;  these  she  trades 
away  for  rich  furs  and  curiosities  which  she 
knows  she  can  readily  sell  to  the  Americans 
who  visit  Sitka.  These  journeys  sometimes 
keep  her  away  for  three    months  at  a  time. 


2  28  To    California  and  Alaska. 

Mrs,  Tom's  ideas  of  matrimony  are  cer- 
tainly very  liberal  ;  she  has  almost  any  number 
of  husbands,  but  rarely  keeps  one  over  two 
or  three  years,  when  she  discharges  him  and 
purchases  a  new  one.  After  we  had  made  the 
purchases  from  her  we  requested  her  to  send 
the  articles  to  the  steamer  and  we  would  pay 
the  money  to  the  husband  who  brought  the 
package.  She  evidently  had  a  very  pessimistic 
opinion  of  man's  honesty,  for  she  quickly  re- 
plied that,  as  the  amount  due  was  quite  a  large 
sum,  she  wished,  if  we  had  no  objections,  that 
we  would  pay  her  "  cash  down  "  on  the  spot, 
saying  that  she  would  feel  easier  than  if  she 
had  to  wait  for  one  of  her  husbands  to  bring 
it  back  to  her. 

While  this  book  is  going  through  the  press 
the  writer  has  noticed  some  curious  statements 
in  a  New  York  journal  on  the  polyandrous 
women  of  Alaska.  A  member  of  an  expedi- 
tion that  is  surveying  the  boundary  line 
between  Alaska  and  Canada  says  that  he  has 
met  tribes  on  the  upper  Yukon  River  where 
it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  women  to  have 
two  or  more  husbands.  This  custom  also 
prevails  in  Eastern  Thibet  and  among  the 
Mongols  of  the  Tsaidam.      It  is  accounted  for 


In  Alaskan  Heaters.  229 

by  the  fact  that,  on  account  of  the  barren 
nature  of  the  soil  and  the  general  poverty 
of  the  people  the  brothers  in  a  family  will 
agree  to  have  only  one  wife  among  them  ; 
while  one  brother  is  absent  on  a  trading  jour- 
ney another  remains  at  home  and  looks  after 
the  live  stock,  the  "mutual  wife"  manacjincr 
the  household.  Amone  the  Alaskan  Eskimo 
a  man  is  entitled  to  as  many  wives  as  he  can 
get,  but  in  parts  of  the  country  where  women 
are  scarce  two  or  more  men  live  In  a  hut  with 
one  woman.  It  is  stated  that  polygamy  is 
only  practised  among  rich  and  prosperous 
savages,  while  polyandry  is  practised  by  the 
poorer  peoples,  from  necessity  rather  than 
choice. 

After  lunch  we  stopped  a  few  moments 
at  Lieutenant  Turner's  rooms  and  then  visited 
the  Presbyterian  Mission,  where  we  saw  the 
Shepard  workshop,  established  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Shepard  when  they  were  here  two  years 
ago.  We  were  much  interested  in  the  old 
Greek  church.  It  is  a  rather  gaudily  deco- 
rated building,  painted  in  green  and  gold 
after  the  Eastern  fashion,  wnth  maenificent 
regalia  and  appointments  for  its  rather  lengthy 
but  imposing  service.      Some  of  the  old  houses 


230  To    California  and  Alaska. 

presented  a  very  quaint  and  time-worn  ap- 
pearance, being  probably  some  hundreds  of 
years  old.  While  we  were  here  the  boys 
of  the  party  had  very  good  luck  fishing  off 
the  bows  of  the  boat,  catching  some  very  fine 
black  bass  and  halibut.  The  fishingr  and  deer- 
shooting  in  this  vicinity  are  said  to  be  very 
good. 

The  Russian-American  Company,  once  such 
an  important  factor  in  Alaskan  life,  com- 
menced its  existence  in  i  799  and  was  formed 
on  the  same  plan  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany ;  a  body  of  Russian  traders  and  mer- 
chants, however,  had  existed  long  before  that 
date.  Between  181 2  and  1841  the  Russians 
had  settlements  in  California,  at  Ross  and 
Bodega,  and  they  named  the  principal  stream 
in  that  part  of  the  country  Russian  River. 
In  the  latter  year  Captain  Sutter,  the  famous 
Californian,  purchased  the  company's  settle- 
ment for  $30,000,  which  was  finally  abandoned 
when  it  was  found  more  convenient  to  pur- 
chase from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  on 
Vancouver  Island. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  Russians  occupied 
Sitka  their  houses  were  not  models  of  cleanli- 
ness.     Some    of   them    were   in   the   habit  of 


In  Alaskan  Waters, 


231 


keeping  poultry  in  the  rooms  over  the  sleep- 
ing-chamber, and  as  the  little  windows  were 
never  opened  except  at  long  intervals  the 
odor    was    not    very    captivating. 


Pigs    and 


^^^i?| 


--V 


'A 


goats  at  that  time,  were  allowed  to  roam 
the  streets  at  their  own  sweet  will  and  took 
full  advantage  of  their  unrestricted  liberty. 


''  ^ '?  To    Call  for  711  a  and  Alaska. 


^  o 


We  left  Sitka  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2  2d 
of  May.  All  the  acquaintances  we  had  made 
begged  us  to  remain  over  until  the  next  day, 
promising  that  they  would  arrange  an  Indian 
war-dance  in  the  evening,  but  our  time  being 
limited  we  were  obliged  to  take  our  departure. 
The  mission  band  came  down  to  the  dock  and 
gave  us  a  serenade  just  before  we  sailed  away. 
We  ran  until  about  dark,  when  we  entered 
Peril  Straits  and  anchored  in  Fish  Bay  for  the 
night. 

At  three  o'clock  on  the  followine  morningf. 
May  23d,  we  left  Fish  Bay  in  Peril  Straits, 
passed  through  the  rapids,  and  out  into  the 
open  sound,  bound  for  Glacier  Bay.  We  went 
through  Chatham  Strait,  leaving  Admiralty 
Island  on  our  right,  going  around  Port  Au- 
gusta, and  passing  by  Port  Frederick,  Port  Adol- 
phus,  and  Bartlett.  The  waters  in  this  region 
are  totally  unexplored.  After  we  entered 
Chatham  Strait  bound  for  the  north.  Captain 
Carroll  remained  in  the  pilot-house,  as  there 
were  no  soundings,  and  he  was  the  only  man 
on  board  who  had  >iver  been  throusfh  these 
waters  before.  We  were  constantly  meeting 
large  floes  of  ice,  and  the  vessel  had  to  cut 
throuiJ-h   them.      Some   of    the    iceberg-s  must 


In  Alaskan  JJ^atei^s.  233 

have  been    fully  three    or    four    hundred  feet 
square,   and  of  proportionate  mass. 

At  this  time  the  weather  was  extremely  dis- 
agreeable ;  the  wind  was  cold,  and  a  fine  mist 
was  falline  all  the  time.  The  climatic  condi- 
tions,  combined  with  the  bleak-looking  appear- 
ance of  the  country,  devoid  of  all  vegetation, 
was  anything  but  cheerful,  but  it  helped  us  to 
realize  what  a  dreary  and  desolate  journey  a 
trip  to  the  Arctic  regions  must  be.  As  our 
vessel  was  built  entirely  of  steel,  we  were,  of 
course,  obligfed  to  exercise  unusual  care  in 
sailing  ;  if  we  had  run  on  a  rock,  or  into  an 
iceberg,  it  would  probably  have  made  a  hole 
in  her,  and  sunk  her  at  once.  This  was  one 
of  the  first  iron  vessels  that  had  ever  been 
through  these  waters  ;  Captain  Carroll  re- 
marked, however,  that  he  felt  very  much  safer 
with  a  good  wooden  vessel,  because  in  case 
she  sprung  a  leak  he  would  be  able  to  patch 
It  up.  We  had  rain  almost  steadily  from  the 
time  we  started,  though  now  and  then  the 
weather  would  clear  up  for  an  hour  or  so.  As 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  go  out  on  deck,  we 
were  forced  to  amuse  ourselves  in  the  cabin  by 
playing  cards  and  backgammon  for  hours  at  a 
time. 


234  ^'^   California  and  Alaska. 

In  the  afternoon,  as  we  neared  the  Muir 
Glacier,  we  met  large  fields  of  floating-  ice. 
As  we  travelled  towards  the  north  the  scenery 
changed  entirely ;  there  were  no  signs  of  vege- 
tation to  be  seen,  the  whole  surrounding  coun- 
try was  one  mass  of  rocks,  while  the  waters 
were  dotted  with  barren  and  desolate  islands. 
We  arrived  at  the  Great  Glacier  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  We  ran  up  very 
close,  then  drifted  back,  and  threw  out  anchor 
on  the  east  shore.  A  boat  was  lowered,  and 
some  of  the  party  went  ashore,  and  walked  up 
over  the  glacier.  Pieces  of  this  icy  mountain 
were  falling  away  repeatedly,  the  noise  of  their 
falling  being  similar  to  the  sound  of  heavy 
artillery.  During  the  whole  of  this  particular 
afternoon  there  was  not  a  period  of  five  minutes 
during  which  we  did  not  see  or  hear  large 
pieces  of  ice  falling,  the  masses  being  so  large 
sometimes  that  they  caused  the  vessel  to  rock. 

We  anchored  at  this  point  all  night,  leaving 
about  half-past  three  o'clock  the  following 
morning,  as  soon  as  we  could  see.  We 
travelled  south  to  Ainsley  Island;  here,  in- 
stead of  ofoinof  down  through  Chatham  Strait, 
as  we  did  when  we  came  up,  we  turned  around 
and  went  north,  towards  Lynn  Channel,  bear- 


W 

U 
< 
►J 

o 
B 


z 

w" 
u 

o 
g 

O 
1-1 


In  Alaskan  Waters.  235 

ing  off  sharply  to  our  right  round  Admiralty 
Island,  eoine  throuorh  Stevens'  Passao^e,  then 
back  aeain  between  Dougflas  Island  and  the 
mainland  to  Port  Douglas.  We  arrived  at 
Douelas  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
It  had  rained  steadily  all  day,  and  we  had  not 
been  able  to  see  any  of  the  mountains  ;  at  times 
the  fog  was  dangerously  thick. 

After  tying  up  at  the  wharf,  our  party  went 
through  the  celebrated  Treadwell  Mine,  which 
has  the  largest  stamp-mill  in  the  world ;  it 
is  owned  principally  by  Mr.  D.  O.  Mills,  and 
some  gentlemen  of  San  Francisco.  We  passed 
through  a  tunnel  into  the  mountain,  and  en- 
tered the  mine.  The  ore  is  all  of  a  low  grade, 
and  is  worth  about  ten  dollars  per  ton.  It 
is  taken  out  by  the  use  of  Sargent  drills 
worked  by  compressed  air.  The  ore  is  quar- 
ried the  same  as  any  ordinary  stone,  after 
which  it  is  all  put  into  the  crusher,  and  then 
into  the  stamp-mill. 

We  spent  two  hours  in  this  mine,  after  which 
we  went  across  to  Juneau,  where  we  were 
obliged  to  fill  the  tank  of  our  steamer  with 
water.  We  remained  there  until  seven  o'clock 
In  the  evening.  Juneau  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  being  one  of  the  dirtiest  towns  we  had  yet 


236  To   California  and  Alaska. 

seen.  The  place  was  full  of  people,  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  having  arrived  on  the  last  trip 
of  the  Ancon,  drawn  to  the  locality  on  account 
of  the  great  mining  excitement  which  existed 
there  at  the  time.  Only  a  few  days  before  we 
arrived,  a  party  struck,  about  thirty  miles 
south  of  the  town,  a  rich  silver  ore,  which 
assayed  $160  per  ton.  While  at  Juneau,  at 
the  special  request  of  a  young  lady  in  New 
York,  who  Is  much  interested  in  the  work,  we 
called  upon  Miss  Matthews,  who  is  in  charge 
of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  here.  While  mak- 
ing this  call  we  saw  a  young  bear  cub  In  the 
street ;  we  purchased  it,  and  had  it  taken  on 
board  the  boat,  where  it  greatly  amused  the 
children. 

We  left  the  dock  at  half-past  three  in  one  of 
the  heaviest  rains  we  had  so  far  seen.  A  short 
distance  from  here  we  passed  Bishop's  Point, 
and  If  we  had  had  more  time  would  have 
turned  off  Into  Taku  Inlet,  and  sailed  up  to 
a  very  large  glacier  which  is  at  the  head  of  it. 
As  we  passed  through  Stevens'  Passage  we 
left  Holcomb's  Bay  on  our  left.  The  old 
pilot  we  had  on  board  told  us  that  some 
twenty  years  ago,  while  he  was  sailing  in  this 
vicinity  as  mate  on  a  vessel,  the  ship  anchored 


In  Alaskan  lVate7's.  237 

here  one  nieht  and  did  some  trading  with  the 
Indians,  There  was  some  misunderstandinor 
between  the  captain  and  the  chief  of  the  tribe, 
and  the  captain,  in  some  way,  insuhed  the 
Indians.  That  nio-ht  the  savao-es  boarded 
the  ship,  and  talcing  possession,  completely 
stripped  her,  the  crew  barely  escaping  with 
their  lives. 

At  nine  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  Saturday, 
May  25th,  the  clouds  broke  away  as  we  were 
entering  Prince  Frederick  Sound,  coming 
through  Stevens'  Passage  from  Juneau.  We 
here  retraced  our  steps  through  Wrangel  Nar- 
rows, and,  after  leaving  the  narrows,  bore  off 
to  our  left  for  Fort  Wrangel.  In  the  sunshine 
on  this  day  the  country  looked  beautiful,  and 
It  was  the  first  opportunity  we  had  had  for 
many  days  to  take  a  really  good  photograph. 

On  our  arrival  at  Fort  Wranorel,  at  half- 
past  one,  every  one  went  ashore.  The  town 
consists  of  about  forty  or  fifty  Indian  houses, 
two  missions  and  stores,  and  two  or  three 
houses  in  which  a  few  white  people  live.  Fort 
Wrangel  is  chiefly  celebrated  for  its  totem 
poles,  of  which  the  accompanying  sketch  will 
give  a  very  good  idea,  as  it  will  also  of  the 
street  and  stores.      We  understood  that  there 


2-.8 


To   California  and  Alaska. 


was  a  large  cannery  about  thirty  miles  north 

of  this  place,  but  we  did  not  have  time  to  visit  it. 

After  spending  an  hour  and  a  half  on  shore, 

we  started  on   our  way  to   Vancouver,      The 


bear  which  we  obtained  at  Juneau  proved  to  be 
a  great  source  of  pleasure  to  the  children.  He 
grew  tame  very  rapidly,  and  became  quite  a  pet. 
Sunday,  May  26th,  was  the  first  really  pleas- 
ant day  we  had  had  since  leaving  Vancouver, 
more  than  a  week  before.  As  already  stated, 
we  had  had  an  hour  or  two  of  sunlight  at 
times,  but  this  particular  Sunday  was  lovely 
from  beginning  to  end  ;  there  was  not  only  an 
absence  of  rain,  but  the  weather  was  so  mild 


In  Alaskan   Waters. 


239 


that  we  were  all  able  to  sit  on  the  deck 
throughout  the  entire  day.  On  the  same  even- 
ing, however,  as  we  were  crossing  Charlotte 
Sound,  about  half-way  over,  it  began  to  rain 
very  hard,  and  by  eight  o'clock  it  became  so 
thick  that  we  had  difficulty  in  finding  our  way 
into  the  narrows  beyond.  We  looked  forward 
eagerly  to  our  arrival  at  Vancouver  the  fol- 
lowing day,  as  we  expected  to  find  there  mail 
and  telegrams  ;  for  the  ten  preceding  days  we 
had  had  no  chance  of  receiving  any  communis 
cation  from  our  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


VICTORIA— WINNIPEG— HUNTING  EXPERIENCES, 


We  arrived  at  Vancouver  about  five  o'clock 
on  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  May  27th,  and 
found  there  a  large  number  of  mall-bags,  tele- 
grams, and  packages  awaiting  us.  We  re- 
mained until  eight  o'clock,  removing  our  spare 
baggage  and  attending  to  necessary  corre- 
spondence, when  we  left  for  Victoria,  which 
we  reached,  after  a  pleasant  run,  during  the 
night. 

After  breakfast,  in  the  morning,  we  went  to 
the  office  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Express 
Company,  and  found  there  two  lost  mail-bags, 
which  we  should  have  received  at  Lake  Pend 
d'Oreille.  In  the  morninor  ^ve  took  a  drive 
around  the  town  ;  in  the  afternoon  some  of 
the  party  took  a  steam  launch  and  made  a 
trip  to  Esquimalt  and  the  English  naval 
depot,  while  the  rest  drove  over  there  in  car- 

240 


HiiJitiug  Experiences.  241 

riages.  The  roads  on  the  island  are  excellent, 
being  macadamized  as  they  are  in  England. 
A  number  of  English  men-of-war  are  stationed 
here,  among  them  some  of  the  latest  and  most 
approved  ironclads. 

Victoria  is  the  capital  of  British  Columbia, 
and  is  in  the  southern  part  of  Vancouver 
Island.  Erom  the  city  one  has  a  fine  view  of 
the  Olympia  Mountains,  just  across  the  straits 
In  Oregon,  and,  to  the  east,  snow-capped 
Mount  Baker.  There  is  one  railway  on  the 
island,  and  it  leads  to  the  mountains,  the  coal- 
fields, and  to  the  harbor  of  Nanaimo.  Eine 
deposits  of  anthracite  coal  are  said  to  exist 
in  the  far  interior  of  the  western  portion  of 
the  island.  During-  the  summer  months  a 
steamer  leaves  Victoria  every  two  weeks  for 
Alaska.  The  climate  is  much  like  that  of  the 
south  of  England. 

On  our  return  from  Esquimalt  we  all  met 
at  the  Islander,  and  through  the  courtesy  of 
Captain  Irving  enjoyed  a  sail  up  the  "  Arm," 
a  beautiful  inlet  from  the  sea,  both  shores  of 
which  are  lined  with  handsome  villas,  occupied 
by  wealthy  residents  of  Victoria. 

We  returned  to  the  boat  in  time  for  dinner, 
and   immediately   afterward   started   for  Van- 


242  To   California  and  Alaska. 

coiiver.  Instead  of  following  a  direct  route 
we  ran  around  to  Esquimalt  Harbor,  and 
sailed  in  amono-  the  Encjlish  ironclads,  thus 
getting  a  very  good  view  of  the  fleet. 

Our  trip  on  the  steamer  Islander  was  charm- 
ing and  was  thoroughly  enjoyed,  much  of  our 
pleasure  being  due  to  the  kindness  and 
courtesy  of  Captains  Carroll  and  Irving,  both 
of  whom  took  special  pains  to  describe  the 
various  points  we  visited.  During  the  ten 
days  we  were  on  board  the  steamer,  our  life 
was  comfortable  in  the  extreme.  There  was 
no  part  of  the  boat  which  w^e  were  not  wel- 
come to  visit,  and  most  of  the  men,  when  not 
below  with  the  ladies,  spent  the  greater  part 
of  their  time  in  Captain  Irving's  apartment, 
or  in  the  pilot-house. 

Although  we  thoroughly  appreciated  the 
grandeur,  magnificence,  and  novelty  of  the 
scenery  we  had  witnessed  during  our  ten  days 
in  Alaskan  waters,  yet  we  were  all  quite 
agreed  that,  weird,  strange,  and  grand  though 
it  might  be,  it  did  not  begin  to  equal  what  we 
had  seen  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  road  near 
Mount  Stephen  when  we  crossed  the  Rockies, 
or  Mount  Macdonald  when  w^e  journeyed  over 
the  Selkirks. 


Hunting  Experiences. 


243 


On  our  return  to  Vancouver,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  May  29th,  we  found  our  special  train 
backed  down  upon  the  wharf,  ready  to  receive 
us  for  our  homeward  trip.  Everything  was  im- 
mediately transferred  from  the  boat  to  the  cars. 
We  had  intended  stopping  over  at  Shuswap 
Lake  to  fish,  but  w^e  received  word  from  Mr. 
^  Marpole  that  the  flies  and  mosquitoes 

•^  i  were  bitino-  faster  than  the  fish  ;  he 


>Ke.i;cli.   or\  the   CPRy     —    FRAStf?     CANON-SHonrpNC.  3ruw«El.S 


i 


.      ^^^^i^^ 

^4M 


»«fl^^- 


informed  us  it  would   be    better   to   continue 
directly  to  Banff. 

Our  train  really  looked  better  now  than  on 
the  day  we  started  from  New  York  ;  the  trucks 
of  the  cars  had  all  been  overhauled  and  painted. 
Mr.  Abbott  did  all  he  possibly  could  for  our 
comfort. 


244  -^''    Califoriiia  and  Alaska. 

The  ride  up  the  Fraser  River  Canyon  was 
extremely  interesting-  ;  the  scenery  seemed  to 
be  even  more  beautiful  than  it  did  the  day  v^e 
journeyed  down.  We  arrived  at  the  junction 
of  the  Thompson  and  Fraser  rivers  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  reached 
Kamloops  Lake  about  seven  o'clock,  just  as 
we  were  about  sitting  down  to  dinner.  None 
of  us  before  had  realized  what  a  beautiful 
sheet  of  water  this  is.  We  reached  Kamloops 
about  nine  o'clock,  where  Mr.  Marpole  and 
his  master  mechanic  met  us. 

As  it  rained  very  hard  on  the  morning  of 
May  30th,  we  abandoned  our  intention  of 
going  to  the  Glacier,  and  rode  directly  through 
to  Banff.  As  we  passed  through  we  were 
unable  to  see  Mount  Macdonald  owing  to  the 
fog  and  mist  hanging  over  it  ;  but  the  scenery 
going  up  from  Macdonald,  alongside  of  the 
Kicking  Horse  Canyon  to  the  summit  under- 
neath Mount  Stephen,  seemed  to  us  even 
grander  than  it  did  on  our  outward  trip.  We 
arrived  at  Banff  about  four  o'clock,  where  we 
took  carriages  and  drove  to  the  Hot  Springs, 
and  afterwards  to  the  Hotel  Banff,  which  is 
kept  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  Here 
we  had   an   excellent  dinner,    after  which  we 


Hunting  Experiences. 


!45 


walked  to   the  Bow  River  and   then   back   to 
the  cars  in  the  even i no-. 

Banff  is  a  station  for  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Park  of  Canada.  This  park  is  twenty-six 
miles  long,  about  ten  wide,  and  embraces  the 
valleys  of  the  Bow,  Spray,  and  Cascade  rivers, 
Devil's-Head  Lake,  and  many  mountains  be- 
yond.     The  hotel  here  is  kept  by  the  railroad 


...V.  'T^'^!^^  '"  company    in    the    finest 

!)#»''' v^"    '  and  most  approved  style.    It 

was  as  good  as  any  hotel  we  stopped  at  on 
our  journey,  almost  equalling  the  hotel  at 
Monterey.  The  building  is  beautifully  lo- 
cated on  the  side  of  the  mountain  overlook- 
ing the  Bow  River  Valley,  is  supplied  with 
every  modern  convenience  and  luxury  that 
one  could  wish  for,  and  is  kept  open  during 
the  entire  year. 


246  To    Califor7iia  and  Alaska. 

Many  excursions  are  made  from  here  into 
the  mountains  by  sportsmen,  who  can  readily 
obtain  the  horses  and  camping  outfits  necessary 
for  a  two  or  three  weeks'  sojourn.  The  moun- 
tains surroundinor  Banff  averaofe  in  height  from 
seven  to  ten  thousand  feet.  Devil's-Head 
Lake  is  situated  at  the  very  foot  of  Fairholme 
Mountains,  in  the  very  heart  of  snow-capped 
mountains,  its  shores  rising  perpendicularly 
out  of  the  water  with  little  if  any  vegetation 
upon  them.  The  depth  of  the  lake  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  height  of  the  mountains  at  its 
sides.  We  had  heard  that  very  large  trout 
were  to  be  obtained  in  this  lake,  and  conse- 
quently had  made  arrangements  to  drive  out 
there  in  two  wagons.  As  it  was  early  in  the 
season  we  were  not  able  to  obtain  many  boats  ; 
a  few  of  the  party  went  out,  however,  and 
after  an  hour's  fishing  Mr.  Kean  returned 
with  a  forty-two-pound  lake  trout.  This 
locality  is  particularly  celebrated  for  big-horned 
sheep,  and  mountain  goats  are  common  on  the 
neio^hborinor  heights. 

The  Sulphur  Springs  at  Banff  are  highly 
appreciated  by  invalids.  The  air  here  is  soft 
and  balmy,  and  the  records  show  that  the 
winters  are  not  as  severe  in  the  valley  as  one 


HtLiiting  Experiences.  247 

might  be  led  to  expect.  The  government  has 
built  excellent  roads,  running  in  different  direc- 
tions, all  through  the  valley  and  up  the 
mountain  sides.  A  good  livery  is  kept  at  the 
hotel,  where  horses  and  carriages  can  be  ob- 
tained for  excursions  in  the  vicinity.  Bridle- 
paths have  also  been  cut  to  quite  a  distance  in 
the  mountains.  A  party  could  stay  a  couple  of 
weeks  here  with  very  great  profit,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  shooting  and  fishing,  but  for  the 
pleasure  that  w^ould  be  derived  from  excur- 
sions to  the  different  points  of  interest. 

We  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  about  ten 
miles  farther  east,  at  Anthracite,  a  place  where 
discoveries  of  anthracite  coal  have  been  made. 
From  that  point  we  did  not  stop  until  we 
reached  Calgary,  where  we  remained  about 
half  an  hour,  at  the  request  of  the  mayor  and 
some  of  the  prominent  citizens,  and  enjoyed  a 
drive  around  the  city.  Calgary  can  be  com- 
pared to  the  town  of  Great  Falls,  in  Montana  ; 
it  seems  to  be  similarly  located,  and  will 
eventually  become  a  distributing  point  for  the 
mines  and  mountain  re^rion  surroundino-  it ; 
it  is  understood  that  this  is  now  the  case 
with  regard  to  the  Northwest  and  Mackenzie 
River  country.       The   growth    of    this    town 


248  To    California  and  Alaska. 

within  the  past  four  years  has  been  something 
phenomenal. 

From  Calgary  we  hurried  on  eastward  until, 
about  sundown,  we  reached  Medicine  Hat, 
situated  on  the  Saskatchewan  River.  This 
place  is  the  home  of  Mr.  Niblock,  through 
whose  energy  enough  funds  have  been  raised 
to  build  a  large  hospital  for  the  railroad  people. 
The  station  at  Medicine  Hat  is  one  of  the 
prettiest  buildings  on  the  prairie  ;  the  experi- 
mental o-arden  in  front  of  the  buildiuij  in  the 
summer  time  is  one  mass  of  flowers. 

We  left  Medicine  Hat  at  half-past  six  on 
the  evening  of  May  31st,  taking  with  us  Mr. 
Niblock's  assistant,  Mr.  Coon,  his  celebrated 
duckinor  doe  "  Punch,"  and  another  door  which 
we  borrowed  from  a  grentleman  in  Medicine 
Hat.  We  ran  slowly  during  the  evening,  so 
timine  ourselves  as  to  sfet  within  about  half  a 
mile  of  Goose  Lake  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  train  was  stopped  here  on  the 
main  track,  Mr.  Coon  having  with  him  a 
telegraph  instrument  with  which  he  tapped 
the  wires  and  kept  all  east-  and  west-bound 
trains  out  of  the  way.  We  then  had  coffee, 
and  the  gentlemen  of  the  party  started  with 
their  guns  and  walked  up  the  track,  just   as 


Hu7iting  Experiences.  249 

day  was  breaking.  As  we  neared  the  lake, 
which  lay  to  the  south,  we  could  hear  geese 
and  ducks,  as  well  as  many  other  kinds  of 
wild-fowl,  making  an  incessant  squawking  and 
calling.  When  we  reached  the  lake  we  found 
it  fairly  alive  with  geese  and  ducks  of  every 
description  ;  snipe,  yellow-legs,  and  avecet 
were  there  in  myriads.  Owing  to  the  easy 
manner  in  which  wild-fowl  can  be  killed  here, 
the  lake  has  been  nicknamed,  by  Mr.  Van 
Home,  "Blind-hunter's  Lake";  he  truthfully 
contends  that  all  a  man  has  to  do  is  to  gfo 
there,  fire  off  a  gun,  and  he  is  sure  to  hit 
something.  It  must  be  added,  however,  that 
this  remark  only  applies  to  the  gunning  season. 
As  it  was  the  close  of  the  season,  and  our 
party  only  desired  to  obtain  a  few  specimens 
of  game,  to  be  mounted  in  Winnipeg,  we 
separated,  some  of  us  going  to  the  north  side 
of  the  lake,  while  others  went  to  the  opposite 
side.  About  half-past  six  we  returned  to  the 
railroad  track,  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake, 
each  with  a  few  specimens  of  almost  every  kind 
of  wild-fowl.  All  the  party  then  went  back 
along  the  track,  and  signalled  for  the  train  to 
come  up,  when  we  got  on.  We  made  a  run  for 
a  short  distance  until  we  came  to  another  part 


250  To    California  and  Alaska. 

of  the  lake,  where  a  number  of  swan  were 
seen.  We  stopped  the  train,  and  two  of  the 
party  tried  to  stalk  them,  but  found  it  im- 
possible to  get  near  them,  as  the  swan  would 
invariably  get  up  just  before  the  sportsmen 
were  within  gun-shot  distance.  At  Rush  Lake 
we  made  another  stop.  This  is,  probably,  the 
finest  shooting  lake  on  the  line  of  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  ;  wild-fowl  shootinor  is  said  to  be 
better  here  than  anywhere  else  along  the  road. 
After  spending  a  half-hour  at  this  lake,  we  all 
returned  to  the  train  and  had  breakfast.  While 
waiting  at  the  siding  at  this  lake  we  were 
passed  by  the  west-bound  Continental.  From 
Rush  Lake  to  Winnipeg  we  made  no  stop, 
except  to  change  engines  and  take  water.  We 
arrived  at  Winnipeg  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  having  made  exceptionally  good 
time. 

The  following  day,  Sunday,  the  second  of 
June,  the  weather  was  bright,  clear,  and  quite 
warm.  Shortly  after  breakfast  the  American 
Consul  called  upon  us,  and  we  arranged  with 
him  for  a.  visit  to  Governor  Shultz.  Some 
of  the  party  took  carriages  and  drove  to 
church. 

In    the    afternoon    the    children  all   took  a 


Hiuitiug  Experiences.  251 

drive,  and  the  men  of  the  party  visited  Mr. 
Hines,  the  taxidermist,  and  left  with  him  a 
number  of  heads  and  specimens  that  we  had 
procured  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  else- 
where, such  as  moose,  elk,  and  the  black- 
tailed  deer.  The  writer  had  the  pleasure  of 
capturing  one  of  the  largest  moose  heads  that 
had  ever  been  seen  in  that  section  of  the 
country  ;  also  quite  a  large  elk  head. 

We  all  enjoyed  our  visit  in  Winnipeg,  es- 
pecially our  call  upon  Governor  Shultz,  whom 
we  found  to  be  an  exceedingly  agreeable  per- 
son. He  was  very  anxious,  not  only  to  hear 
about  our  trip  to  Alaska,  but  also  to  give  the 
writer  information  in  reofard  to  the  Mackenzie 
River  Basin  country,  of  which  he  had  made  a 
study,  having  been  a  member  of  a  commission, 
appointed  some  years  ago  by  the  Canadian 
Government,  to  make  a  report  on  the  subject. 
He  kindly  furnished  us  with  a  copy  of  this 
document.  He  was  very  anxious  that  some 
time  in  the  near  future  the  writer  should  make 
up  a  party  and  visit  the  Mackenzie  River, 
following  it  down  to  its  outlet.  He  explained 
that  this  scheme  was  quite  practicable,  pro- 
vided the  writer  could  obtain  a  letter  from  the 
Hudson   Bay  Company  giving  him  the  right 


252  To  California  and  Alaska. 

to  use  their  boats  on  the  river  or  its  tribu- 
taries, wherever  they  might  be  found  ;  and 
he,  very  kindly,  gave  the  assurance  that  he 
could  obtain  such  a  letter.  Such  a  trip,  he 
estimated,  would  occupy  about  five  or  six 
months. 

Winnipeg,  the  capital  of  Manitoba,  is  situ- 
ated at  the  junction  of  the  Red  and  Assini- 
boine  rivers,  both  of  which  are  navigable  by 
steamships.  For  many  years  this  city  has 
been  the  chief  post  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, and  to-day  that  company  carries  on  a 
very  large  business  with  the  people  in  the 
reeions  to  the  north  and  west.  As  it  was  Sun- 
day  we  were  not  able  to  visit  the  warehouses  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  could  only  see 
them  from  the  outside.  They  look  more  like 
large  military  barracks  than  the  buildings  of  a 
private  company.  Governor  Shultz  informed 
us  that  in  former  years  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany were  government,  counsel,  and  every- 
thing else  to  this  part  of  the  country  ;  that 
they  made  their  own  laws,  and  even  conducted 
the  trials.  He  also  informed  us  that  very  few 
people  believe  Lord  Lonsdale  ever  penetrated 
the  Arctic  region  as  far  as  he  claimed  he  did  ; 
in  fact,  that  reports  from  Hudson  Bay  officials 


Hi  tilting  Experiences.  253 

said  that  no  such  person  had  ever  been  at  cer- 
tain posts,  and  that  it  was  next  to  impossible 
for  him  to  have  gone  over  to  Mollesten's 
Land,  or  even  to  the  eastern  Arctic  coast  oppo- 
site ;  besides,  the  trip  from  here  westward  to 
the  Yukon  would  have  required  a  longer 
period. 

The  city  is  situated  on  a  level  plain  ;  the 
streets  are  very  broad,  and  the  buildings  mostly 
of  brick.  Within  the  last  few  years  the  town, 
of  course,  has  grown  very  rapidly,  owing  to  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  passing  through  it, 
and  the  Manitoba  Railroad  reachinof  it  from 
the  south.  Many  branches  of  railroad  now 
centre  here.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  have 
a  railway,  which,  when  we  were  at  Winnipeg, 
was  completed  as  far  as  Shoal  Lake,  forty 
miles  to  the  northwest.  The  depot  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  this  city  is  a  hand- 
some and  imposing  building,  and  is  the  divi- 
sional headquarters  for  that  part  of  the  road 
from  Port  Arthur  to  Donald,  a  distance  of 
1,454  niiles  ;  this  is  called  the  Western  Division. 
The  land  offices  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way are  also  located  here. 

In  conversinof  with  the  taxidermist,  Mr. 
Hines,  and  his  son,  both  of  whom  are  ardent 


254 


To  California  and  Alaska. 


sportsmen,  they  gave  very  interesting  accounts 
of  the  game  that  can  be  found  north  of  Winni- 
peg, at  Lake  Winnipeg.  This  game  includes 
moose,  caribou,  bear,  and,  in  the  fall,  any  num- 
ber of  ducks.  They  also  informed  us  that  the 
facilities  for  getting  to  the  hunting  grounds 
were  very  good.      The  sportsman  could  follow 


the  Hall  River  nearly  the  whole  distance,  part 
of  the  way  by  steamboat  and  the  rest  of  the 
way  in  canoes,  making  it  exceedingly  easy  to 
take  plenty  of  supplies.  The  country  is  said 
to  resemble  very  much  the  Adirondacks  or  the 
lake  region  of  Minnesota,  from  the  fact  that 
for  miles  and  miles  the  hunter  can  go  from  one 


o 
o 
z 

tn 


< 

O 

z 


Hunting  Experiences. 


255 


lake  to  another,  oftentimes  without  havine  to 
make  any  carry,  while  at  others  he  would  only 
have  from  one  to  three  hundred  feet  carry  to 
make.  They  told  us,  also,  that  the  grounds 
for  camping  are  excellent ;  in  fact,  from  their 
account  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  trip 
there  during  the  months  of  September  or 
October  would  amply  repay  any  sportsman. 


CHAPTER    XXll. 


FROM  WINNIPEG,  HOMEWARD  BOUND. 

We  left  Winnipeg  at  three  o'clock  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  2d,  arriving  at  Rat  Portage 
about  sundown.  The  scenery  west  from  Lake 
Winnipeg  was  very  similar  to  what  we  had 
seen  the  two  preceding  days,  until  we 
approached  Rat  Portage,  when  there  were 
some  very  picturesque  views  and  numerous 
rock-bound  lakes  that  we  passed,  many  of 
which  were  studded  with  small  islands,  and 
were  very  pretty. 

We  arrived  at  Port  Arthur  about  six  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  June  3d,  first  stopping  at 
Fort  William.  The  ride  by  moonlight  the 
night  before  was  through  scenery  different 
from  anything  we  had  seen  heretofore.  The 
road  twisted  and  turned  around  many  low 
hills,  across  small  lakes,  winding  down  rivers, 
running  all  the  time   through   an  exceedingly 

256 


From  Winnipeg,  Homezuard  Bound.      257 

picturesque  country.  The  effect  of  the  moon- 
light, now  and  then  falling  upon  these  beauti- 
ful lakes,  of  which  there  was  almost  a  continu- 
ous line,  was  so  pleasing  as  to  induce  many  of 
the  party  to  sit  out  on  the  rear  platform  until 
quite  late  in  the  evening.  If  we  had  not  been 
in  a  hurry  to   reach   Nepigon,  where  the  party 


proposed  to  have  some  fishing,  we  would  have 
stopped  over  at  Winnipeg  until  the  morning, 
in  order  to  enjoy  this  scenery,  which,  though 
it  was  not  grand,  was  exceedingly  beautiful. 

We  arrived  at  Port  Arthur,  more  commonly 
called  Prince  Arthur's  Landinor  at  about  eiofht 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  remained  there 
until  the  Indians,  who  were  to  accompany  us 
on  our  fishing  tour,  arrived  from  F'ort  Wil- 
liam,   about    half-past    one.      We   procured   a 


258  To    California  and  Alaska. 

box-car  for  the  canoes.  The  morning  was 
occupied  in  visiting  various  stores,  and  pur- 
chasing provisions  and  needed  articles  for  the 
four  or  five  days'  camping  trip  up  the  Nepi- 
o-on.  We  also  went  down  to  the  docks,  and 
went  through  one  of  the  fine  steam-ships  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Company,  which  ply  be- 
tween Port  Arthur  and  Owen's  Sound.  Both 
this  place  and  Fort  William  are  noted  for 
havine  a  ercat  number  of  larp-e  orrain  elevators. 
The  extensive  docks  at  Port  Arthur  are  also 
a  notable  feature  of  the  place. 

The  steamship  that  we  took  here  was  a 
passenger  boat,  fitted  up  with  every  modern 
luxury  and  convenience.  The  engine-room 
was  so  arranged  that  visitors,  instead  of  being 
warned  away  by  the  sign  "  No  Admittance," 
were  permitted  to  go  through  almost  every 
part  of  it.  These  boats  were  built  on  the 
Clyde,  in  Scotland,  and  the  different  pieces 
brought  to  this  country  and  put  together  at 
Lake  Superior.  The  principal  freight  carried 
by  them  is  grain. 

Directly  across  the  bay  from  Port  Arthur  is 
Thunder  Cape.  Behind  this  cape  is  Silver 
Islet,  noted  for  having  yielded  fabulous 
amounts    of    silver    ore.       On     the     Western 


From  IVinnipcg,  Homeward  Bou7id.      259 

Division,  west  of  Port  Arthur,  "  Central  "  time 
and  the  twenty-four-hour  system  are  used. 
East  of  Port  Arthur,  Eastern  time  and  the 
old  twelve-hour  system  are  used. 

We  made  the  short  run  from  Port  Arthur  to 
Nepigon,  and  immediately  on  our  arrival  went 
down  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  coast,  and 
called  on  Mr.  Flanagan,  the  head  ofificial  of 
that  company.  He  had  been  notified  by  Mr. 
Van  Home  to  have  everything  ready  for  us  in 
the  way  of  necessary  supplies  ;  also  canoes 
and  Indians,  We  procured  from  him  another 
boat,  some  Indian  tents  and  blankets,  and  the 
party  started  up  the  river.  It  consisted  of 
Messrs.  Kean,  Purdy,  Frank  Webb,  and 
George  Bird.  The  writer  and  Dr.  McLane 
had  arranofed  to  remain  with  the  ladies  and 
children  while  the  other  members  of  the  party 
made  their  trip  up  the  river.  We  had  heard 
that  the  Nepigon  had  been  pretty  thoroughly 
fished,  owing  to  its  accessibility,  and  we  were 
told  that  by  going  on  to  Jackfish  we  would 
find  a  number  of  streams,  both  east  and  west, 
that  could  easily  be  reached,  and  where  the 
fishing  was  very  good.  We  arrived  at  Jack- 
fish  about  sundown.  The  road  from  Nepigon 
to  Jackfish  sweeps  around  the  north  shore  of 


26o 


To  California  and  Alaska. 


Lake  Superior,  and  represents  a  section  of  the 
railroad  upon  which  some  of  the  heaviest  work 
on  the  entire  line  had  to  be  done.  The  scene 
changes  constantly,  the  road  sometimes  going 
over  deep,  rugged  cuttings,  viaducts,  passing 
through  tunnels,  and  sometimes  on  the  very 
face  of  the  cliff.  One  or  two  miles  of  road 
over  which  we  passed  cost  the  company  nearly 


S^ 


<t£s- 


.-  \R-\ 


$500,000  per  mile.  The  water  along  the 
shore  at  some  places  is  from  three  to  five 
hundred  feet  deep.  It  was  in  this  section  of 
the  country,  views  of  which  are  elsewhere 
given,  that  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  spent 
over  $1,500,000  In  dynamite  alone.  The 
company  had  to  use  such  a  large  amount  of 
this  explosive  that  they  built  an  establishment 


Fi'om  IViimipeg,  Homezvard  Bound.      261 


of  their  own  for  Its  manufacture  ;  the  building 
was  located  on  an  island,  which  can  be  seen 
from  the  train. 

At  Schreiber,  a  divisional  point,  we  changed 
engines.  The  Division  Superintendent  whom 
we  met  here  very  kindly  introduced  the  writer 
to  the  engineer  of  this  section  of  the  road,  a 
great  fisherman.  He  not  only  told  us  where 
the  best  fishing  was  to  be  had,  but  arranged 
with  the  foreman  of  the  section  at  Jack  fish, 
also  quite  a  fisherman,  to  take  us  up  and  down 
the  track  on  his  hand  car  as  often  as  we  might 
desire. 


SKCrCH     FROAl    T«t  .  ' 


From  Schreiber  to  Jackfish  the  road  is  car- 
ried through  and  around  many  lofty  and 
precipitous  promontories,  and  over  a  great 
number   of   high    trestles.     Jackfish   is  beauti- 


262  To  California  and  Alaska. 

fully  situated  on  Jackfish  Bay.  The  mouth  of 
the  bay  is  filled  with  islands  and  is  one  of  the 
land-locked  harbors  on  the  north  coast  of  Lake 
Superior.  The  place  is  known  principally  as 
a  fishing-  hamlet,  and,  besides  the  depot,  con- 
tains only  a  few  huts  occupied  by  fishermen. 
Lake  trout  from  ten  to  tw^enty  pounds  in 
weight  are  brought  in  every  evening  by  small 
sloops.  These  fish  are  taken  in  gill  nets  in 
the  deep  water  beyond  the  islands.  Quite  a 
number  of  brook  trout  are  also  caught  in  this 
way,  each  boat  bringing  in  from  thirty  to  sev- 
enty-five fish.  The  fish  are  cleaned  at  once 
and  shipped  by  express  to  the  East,  nearly 
every  express  train  which  stops  here  taking  on 
four  or  five  barrels.  When  a  fisherman  comes 
across  a  particularly  fine  brook  trout,  or  lake 
trout,  he  packs  it  in  Ice  and  ships  it  to  some 
particular  customer  in  Ottawa. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  June  4th,  Dr. 
McLane  and  the  writer  started  on  the  hand- 
car with  the  section  foreman  and  three  men 
and  rode  four  miles  east  to  Steel  River,  cross- 
ing the  railroad  bridge  there  and  going  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  it  empties 
into  Lake  Superior. 

The    river    here    is    filled  with    pools    from 


From  Winnipeg,  Hoineivard  Bound.      263 

twelve  to  fifteen  feet  deep,  and  at  other  places 
is  from  two  to  three  feet  deep,  though  the 
current  is  very  swift;  it  is  about  one  hundred 
yards  wide.  The  writer  had  scarcely  made  a 
cast  before  he  struck  a  very  large  trout ;  after 
some  very  lively  work,  playing  him  about  ten 
minutes  in  the  swift  current,  the  fish  was 
landed  and  found  to  weigh  about  three  pounds. 
A  second  attempt  resulted  in  hooking  another 
trout  not  quite  so  large.  The  fishing  in  this 
river  is  said  to  be  better  than  in  any  other 
river  on  the  lake  coast.  Very  few  people, 
however,  are  aware  of  this  fact,  nearly  all  fish- 
ing parties  going  to  the  Nepigon.  After  lunch 
we  went  up  the  river  some  two  miles  north  of 
the  railroad  bridge  to  one  of  the  prettiest 
pools  we  had  ever  seen.  We  had  fairly  good 
luck  here  and,  in  the  afternoon,  returned  on 
the  hand-car  to  Jackfish.  On  the  following 
day,  Dr.  McLane  not  feeling  very  well,  the 
writer  made  the  same  trip  without  him,  but  as 
the  weather  was  very  warm  he  met  with  little 
success.  One  of  the  men  on  the  car  had  been 
out  in  the  mornina-  to  a  little  brook  called 
Blackbird  Creek,  about  two  miles  west  of 
Jackfish,  and  caught  ten  fine  trout  with  a  fly; 
some   of  the   trout  weigfhed  as   much  as  four 


264  To  California  and  Alaska. 

pounds  each.  After  lunch  the  writer  took 
Mrs.  Webb  and  Mrs.  Purdy  in  a  sail-boat,  and 
sailed  over  to  this  creek,  where  we  got  out  and 
fished  awhile.  We  then  went  up  on  a  high 
trestle,  and  waited  for  Mr.  Van  Home,  who 
was  expected  to  come  along  with  our  train. 
The  day  before  he  had  wired  us  that  he  was 
on  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  he  would 
stop  and  take  up  our  train  with  his  "  special  " 
and  take  us  back  to  Nepigon,  where  we  had 
arranged  to  remain  a  couple  of  days  until  the 
boys  came  down  the  river. 

Owing  to  some  little  delay  down  the  line  we 
had  to  wait  on  the  trestle  two  hours,  but  Mr. 
Van  Home  finally  came  along  and  picked  us 
up.  He  and  his  party  dined  with  us  that 
evening,  and  after  leaving  us  at  Nepigon  he 
started  westward  for  the  Pacific  coast.  His 
last  words  to  us  were  :  "  Make  yourselves  at 
home,  and  call  for  what  you  want." 

Thursday,  June  6th,  we  spent  at  Nepigon, 
waiting  for  the  boys  to  come  down  the  river, 
and  did  but  very  little  fishing.  The  flies  had 
got  to  be  quite  thick,  and  we  had  to  be  very 
careful  all  day  to  keep  them  from  getting  into 
the  cars.  Dr.  McLane  and  the  writer  spent 
the  evening  with  Mr.  Flanagan  and  his  family. 


From  IViiuiipeg ,  Ho77teward  Bound.     265 

and  were  delightfully  entertained  by  his  charm- 
ing- wife  and  daughter.  Mr.  Flanagan  has 
been  located  here  with  his  family  quite  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  is  in  charge  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  property.  Some  foot-races  and  rifle- 
matches  between  the  porters  on  our  train, 
which  we  got  up  on  this  afternoon,  proved  to 
be  very  amusing. 

About  six  o'clock  the  next  evening  word 
was  brought  to  us  by  an  Indian  that  our  party 
was  coming  down  the  river  ;  we  telegraphed 
at  once  to  Port  Arthur  to  send  an  engine  to 
take  us  East.  The  boys  arrived  about  seven 
o'clock,  and,  as  soon  as  possible  after  their 
arrival,  we  started  for  Montreal. 

After  leaving  Jackfish,  our  journey  led  us 
through  a  very  wild  and  barren  country,  per- 
haps the  most  uninteresting  portion  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  road.  There  was  one  suc- 
cession of  small  lakes  and  insignificant  moun- 
tains. We  changed  engines  four  times  after 
we  left  Schreiber — at  White  River,  Chapleau, 
Carter,  and  Sudbury.  Chapleau  is  charmingly 
situated  on  Lake  Kinogama,  and  here  the 
railroad  company  have  w^orkshops,  and  a  num- 
ber of  neat  cottages  for  their  employes. 

We  arrived  at  Sudbury  about  evening.    This 


266  To  California  and  Alaska. 

place  has  a  connection  with  the  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  Railroad,  through  to  St.  Paul  and  Min- 
neapolis, by  the  Duluth,  South  Shore,  and 
Atlantic  and  "  Soo  "  route.  Just  before  this 
time  a  new  passenger  line  had  been  opened 
from  Minneapolis  to  Boston  by  this  route. 
Large  copper  mines  are  situated  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Sudbury,  and  a  number  of  smelting 
works  have  been  erected  there. 

We  left  Sudbury  on  the  evening  of  Satur- 
day, June  8th,  and  arrived  at  Ottawa  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th,  passing  North  Bay,  a  very 
pretty  town  on  Lake  Nipissing,  during  the 
night.  The  country  from  Sudbury  to  North 
Bay  is  very  much  frequented  by  sportsmen  ; 
bear,  moose,  and  deer  are  said  to  abound 
throughout  this  region — such,  at  least,  was  the 
statement  made  by  our  train-hands.  Very 
little  timber  seems  to  have  been  cut  in  this 
region,  but  wherever  the  land  has  been  cleared 
it  has  been  immediately  taken  for  agricultural 
purposes. 

We  spent  the  morning  in  Ottawa,  and  left 
about  one  o'clock  for  Montreal,  making  the 
run  in  three  hours,  and  arriving  in  the  new 
station  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  near 
the   Windsor    Hotel.      It    was    here    that    we 


Fro77t  IVinmpeg,  Hcmieivard  Bound.      267 

began  to  feel  that  we  had  ahnost  completed 
our  long  and  interesting  trip.  This  new  depot 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  is  probably  one 
of  the  finest  passenger  depots  in  the  country. 

Immediately  on  our  arrival  we  went  to  the 
Windsor  Hotel  for  dinner,  and  there  met  the 
genial  manager,  Mr.  Swett,  who  gave  us  a 
very  cordial  reception,  as  usual.  In  the  evening 
we  walked  around  the  city,  getting  back  to  the 
train  about  bedtime. 

Our  train  was  taken  around  to  the  Grand 
Trunk  Depot,  and,  on  the  morning  of  Monday, 
June  loth,  Mr.  Flagg,  Mr.  Louis  Webb,  and 
Mr.  Smith  arrived  from  New  York  to  welcome 
our  return.  We  had  intended  to  stay  all  day 
in  Montreal,  but  towards  noon  the  weather 
became  warm  and  sultry,  and,  as  the  party 
became  a  little  restless  and  anxious  to  go  to 
Shelburne,  the  writer  telegraphed  to  St.  Albans 
for  an  engine,  and  we  left  at  five  o'clock,  reach- 
ing home  about  three  hours  later.  The  people 
of  the  whole  town  turned  out  to  o-reet  us  on  our 
arrival,  and  gave  us  an  old-fashioned  and  right 
hearty  welcome. 

Before  closing  this  record  of  our  western 
trip,  it  is  only  proper  to  say  that  the  whole 
party  were  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the 


268  To  California  and  Alaska. 

courtesy  and  kind  attention  shown  by  Mr.  Van 
Home  and  all  of  the  officials  connected  with 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  could  never  be 
fully  repaid,  and  that  it  was  only  through  their 
efforts  that  our  trip  had  been  so  thoroughly 
enjoyable  and  interesting.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  Mr.  Van  Home  literally  verified 
the  statement  made  in  a  letter  to  the  writer 
prior  to  the  commencement  of  our  journey  ; 
that  statement  was  that  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  writer  to 
come  and  go  on  as  he  willed,  and  all  that  he 
had  to  do  was  to  command.  Mr.  Van  Home's 
generous  hospitality  was  certainly  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  every  member  of  the  party, 
and  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  writer. 

THE    END. 


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